Last week Mrs Lockhart brought senior officials from the Cabinet Office, HMRC and DEFRA to Upper Bann to meet with leaders of the major Northern Ireland car dealerships. The meeting highlighted the scale of the problem facing the industry, which supports 17,500 jobs and contributes over £3 billion each year to the local economy.

Speaking on the issue, Carla Lockhart MP said:

“What we heard from the leaders of our motor industry was stark. Northern Ireland is being placed in an impossible position. While the rest of the United Kingdom will operate on its own type approval system from 2026, Northern Ireland will remain bound by EU rules. The result is that cars approved for sale in Great Britain may not be registered here in Northern Ireland.

This is not some abstract or distant issue. It will mean less choice for families who need to buy a car, higher prices for consumers who are already under pressure, and job losses in an industry that sustains 17,500 livelihoods and generates over £3 billion a year for our economy. That is the scale of what is at stake.

This is the Irish Sea Border in action. It splits our market from the rest of the United Kingdom and subjects us to rules we do not make. It is morally wrong, economically damaging and constitutionally indefensible.

A car that can be driven off a forecourt in London or Cardiff should not be blocked in Belfast. Yet that is precisely the situation we are facing because of the Protocol and Windsor Framework.

I have made it clear to Government officials that this must be resolved. The Secretary of State must act now to ensure that GB approvals are recognised in Northern Ireland. Our businesses, our workers and our consumers must not be punished by this internal border. Northern Ireland deserves to be treated as an equal part of the United Kingdom, and I will continue to fight until this wrong is put right.”