Allister condemns Windsor Framework’s ‘Parcels Border’ in Westminster Debate

Jim Allister KC MLA, the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader and MP for North Antrim, has strongly criticised the implementation of new business-to-business parcel delivery requirements under the Windsor Framework, calling it a “hammer blow” to Northern Ireland’s economy and a threat to its constitutional integrity within the United Kingdom.

Leading a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday (30 April), Allister raised serious concerns about the new regulations, which came into effect on 1 May. These changes require detailed customs data for business parcels crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, including commodity codes, country of origin declarations, and itemised valuations.

“All of this,” Allister argued, “is being imposed not for safety, nor necessity, but to satisfy the EU’s customs code—under which Great Britain is treated as a foreign country.”

He called the changes “preposterous,” citing the bureaucratic and financial burden now placed on Northern Irish businesses which rely heavily on goods from Great Britain.

“In my constituency of North Antrim, I have many satellite small engineering firms. Many of them are subcontractors to Wrightbus, for example. To get a simple parcel of bolts, nuts, washers or whatever, because they are manufacturers, they will now have to go through the processes of the red lane business-to-business border.”

He warned that GB suppliers may abandon the Northern Irish market entirely due to red tape:

“GB suppliers will simply say, ‘It’s not worth the candle.’ I constantly receive complaints from consumers, but increasingly I am getting them from businesses that say, ‘We know that our suppliers will simply stop supplying.’ That is going to be another hammer blow to our economy.”

Allister emphasised the real-world impacts of the new regulations on towns such as Ballymena and Ballymoney, stating:

“Will we really get into the ludicrous situation where someone buying a parcel of bolts to bring to Ballymena or Ballymoney will have to pay duty on those bolts because he is bringing them from a foreign market—even though that is the GB market?”

He further decried the fact that businesses must pay duties upfront, even when goods are only intended for use within Northern Ireland, and then seek reimbursement months later if they can prove the items did not enter the EU’s single market.

Constitutional and Economic Concerns Raised

Allister positioned the debate within a broader constitutional framework, stating that the Windsor Framework “sacrificed the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom.”

“The protocol was always about making Northern Ireland the price of Brexit… The people who will now be affected are those businesses—the people who employ my constituents. It sends a clear constitutional message to the people of Northern Ireland: ‘You are not really any longer a part of the United Kingdom.’”

He also accused the Government of attempting to reorient Northern Ireland’s economy away from Great Britain and towards the Republic of Ireland through regulatory divergence.

Government Defends the Framework

Responding to the debate, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn defended the new arrangements as necessary to balance trade within the UK and the EU. He argued the Windsor Framework was a “huge improvement” on the original Northern Ireland Protocol.

“We would not allow parcels from any other part of the world to come in without knowing what was in them,” Benn said. “In the same way, because once the goods arrive in Northern Ireland, potentially they could move into the European Union, the EU wants to be satisfied.”

Benn acknowledged that the changes represent an adjustment for some businesses but pointed out that over 10,000 UK firms have already registered for the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS), which allows some exemption from full customs procedures.

However, Allister countered that delays in UKIMS registration and the excessive paperwork discourage GB firms from trading with Northern Ireland at all.

Business Frustration and Uncertainty

Fellow DUP MPs Sammy Wilson and Jim Shannon echoed Allister’s concerns, describing long delays in customs refunds and confusion among constituents.

Shannon highlighted that small businesses in his Strangford constituency were “totally confused” and unable to understand the new obligations.

“Does the hon. and learned Gentleman agree that it is totally unrealistic for the Government to expect small businesses and individuals to understand the obligations and abide by them due to ridiculous EU interference?” Shannon asked.

Wilson warned of a knock-on economic effect as businesses are forced to source goods at higher costs or face serious cash-flow challenges due to delayed duty reimbursements from HMRC.

Looking Ahead

As the debate closed, Allister maintained his uncompromising stance, stating:

“Our access to and from GB is very much fettered by these rules. That is the fundamental objection for a part of the nation whose economy is so intertwined with that of Great Britain.”

The full impact of the new border regime remains to be seen, but as of 1 May, Northern Ireland businesses are now navigating a new trading landscape—one that, in the words of Allister, “puts them through not just the difficulty, but the humiliation of not being a proper part of this United Kingdom.”