EVERY aspect of what is officially known as the Stormont brake has lacked credibility since the measure initially emerged, and it was entirely predictable that its first practical test ended ignominiously.
Although every unionist MLA endorsed the DUP proposal that the brake should be applied to stop changes to EU rules on packaging chemicals, many of their comments on the issue conveyed an equivocal attitude.
Specific tests were linked to the option when it was introduced as part of the Windsor Framework in 2023, insisting that it could only be used in the “most exceptional circumstances and as a matter of last resort”.
It was a nonsense to suggest that an obscure regulation on the labelling of pharmaceutical products could ever have been deemed to meet the threshold of having a “significant impact specific to everyday life of communities in Northern Ireland in a way that is liable to persist”.
The confirmation earlier this week from the secretary of state, Hilary Benn, that he was declining the request was politely but firmly worded, and demonstrated again what a disaster the entire Brexit saga has been for the DUP.
It also illustrated the wider divisions in unionism, which, after a period of relative stability, are increasingly coming to the surface.
The Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister immediately demanded that the DUP push the nuclear button and stage another and presumably permanent walk-out from the Stormont executive.
It was striking to hear Mr Allister referring to the influence of the EU as “colonial rule”, which was precisely the terminology used by hardline republicans about the role of the British government in the grim days before the Good Friday Agreement.
There can be little doubt that the TUV would like to turn the clock back by as many decades as possible, and pretend that power sharing was some kind of temporary phase in our history.
Occasional dark hints from some DUP figures indicate that they privately share Mr Allister’s views, although it remains unlikely that a majority of the party’s MLAs would seriously consider a further withdrawal from the cross-community administration.
It is perfectly possible for nationalists, unionists and the unaligned to maintain their overall aspirations while working together at Stormont in the best interests of all sections of our divided society.
Devolution has been slow to deliver significant advances since it returned almost a year ago but the opportunity to achieve progress in crucial sectors like health, education, the environment and the economy remains very much in the hands of our ministers.
What is essential is that they concentrate on their real priorities and avoid distractions like the Stormont brake.
