Letters: Big mistake to present sea border as a commercial problem

First of all, the big mistake most of our political leaders made, in opposition to the Irish Sea border, was deploying economic arguments against the insidious protocol.

Because, both the European Union and the United Kingdom government are now on the verge of delivering serious mitigations which should help facilitate East West, West East trade.In my view, the sea border should never have been presented as a commercial problem.Because every time our politicians cite the failure of one business to adapt to changing circumstances, more than a few rise up to inform us that they are doing rather well.In other words, this is a critical constitutional crisis, nothing more, nothing less.So, why don't our leaders just say that instead of continuing to lose ground, day after day, week after week, month after month?Secondly, unlike my former colleague Carl McClean, I firmly believe that the Ulster Unionist Party has both a winning strategy and a refreshing libertarian message to reach out well beyond the traditional pro-Union base to attract new voters under the visionary leadership of Doug Beattie.And, finally, I am just an old guy who cares about his country more than anything else in the world.

Alan S Carson, Belfast BT5