Although I don’t particularly like the word ‘Brexit’, because it can mean different things to different people, we must not forget our unfinished severance from the European Union.

Right now, we are still unwinding from the 2008 Credit Crunch, still on the ropes from the pandemic, heavily engaged in assisting Ukraine in its struggle with Russian aggression and now we’re facing a cost-of-living crisis and an energy crisis that will cost us dear in financial and societal terms and may well cost us many lives too.

All of which we’re now being told will stretch years into the future.

So, there will be a temptation in Westminster, especially amongst the Remainer/Rejoiner majority of them, to convince the new PM to put any Brexit issues on the back burner, in the hope they can keep those ties intact and start a Re-join process in the future.

The new PM would be making a mistake by going down that route because not following through hard on the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, even though the House of Lords intends to scupper it, risks badly upsetting the Northern Ireland unionist community - something that could endanger the Belfast Agreement and peace process.

Not following through hard with the Bill of Rights Bill, would ensure that the European Convention on Human Rights, through its courts, can continue to dictate who can come into the UK as well as stop us from removing criminals and the like.

The flow of rubber dinghies and lorries with unconventional passengers would continue unabated. And when the hotel space runs out, what then?

The people are quietly very angry about these issues, but will become very vociferous, if the new Prime Minister decides to use the Russia Ukraine war or the cost-of-living crisis as an excuse to play nice with the EU over Northern Ireland and not grasp the nettle with the ECHR where our borders are concerned.

We must all be alert to the calls by many inside and outside the UK for ‘Europe’ to pool all its money, resources, and defence assets in order to address these pressing Ukraine and cost- of- living crisis issues.

But that’s pure Rejoiner speak. So don’t fall for it!

Our answer must be, to point out that it was the last twenty plus years of pooling our resources that got us here in the first place.

Lester Taylor

UK Independence Party – Spokesman for Brexit and Northern Ireland