evidence: However, the Ulster Unionist Peer, Lord Empey argued the DUP’s endorsement of these plans helped create a regulatory border down the Irish sea. When Boris Johnson published his original proposals on the Protocol on 2nd October 2019, the UUP voiced their opposition with then party leader, Robin Swann saying; [...] "The Irish Sea Border is not just a threat to the economic integrity of the United Kingdom; it is a threat to the living standards of the people of Northern Ireland and the constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom. In the weeks ahead our goal is to remove the Irish Sea border and to preserve and protect the internal UK market." [...] However, attitudes may be changing with time and political developments. With the caveat that it is an individual poll by the Irish News and University of Liverpool’s Institute for Irish Studies on the Windsor Framework – the recent poll found that 46% of unionists support the Framework; with 39% neither supporting/opposing; and 16% opposing.