Category Archives: Northern Irish politics

Sunak draws ire after hailing Northern Ireland’s access to UK and EU markets

Posted on by

PM criticised for boasting about trade benefits of new deal while denying same gains to rest of UK

Rishi Sunak has eulogised Northern Ireland’s “unique” and privileged position in having easy trade access to both the UK and EU markets – prompting critics to note that this was the case for the entire country before Brexit.

In comments that could potentially antagonise hardline Conservative Brexiters – who suspect Sunak could secretly welcome a shuffle towards closer EU single market access – the prime minister used an event in Northern Ireland to talk up what he called “the prize that is on offer” with his post-Brexit protocol.

Continue reading...

Sunak: True test of Northern Ireland deal will be restoration of assembly

Posted on by

PM hints that Westminster is optimistic about return of power-sharing after unveiling Stormont brake

Rishi Sunak has said the true test for his new protocol deal will be the restoration of the Northern Ireland assembly, saying citizens “need and deserve” to return to functioning government.

In a hint the government in Westminster is optimistic about the return of power-sharing, Sunak said the new Stormont brake – which would allow the assembly a say over EU law applied in Northern Ireland – would be a key step towards restoring the “democratic deficit”.

Continue reading...

Sunak hails ‘new chapter’ in UK-EU relations as Northern Ireland deal is agreed

Posted on by

Prime minister unveils agreement with European Commission president after four months of negotiations

Rishi Sunak has hailed a “new chapter” in the UK’s relationship with the EU as he secured a deal to end the long-running dispute over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol.

The prime minister and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, described a “decisive breakthrough” at a joint news conference in Windsor after four months of intense negotiations.

Continue reading...

Sunak sets out Northern Ireland trade deal to MPs as Labour vow to back agreement – as it happened

Posted on by

Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen say ‘Windsor framework’ has been reached after four months of negotiations. This blog is now closed

Q: Why do you say you will back the PM’s deal when you have not seen the detail? And would you like to see Northern Ireland within the scope of the European court of justice, or outside it?

Starmer says he knows Northern Ireland well and knows the detail. Any deal will be an improvement on the status quo. That is why he is saying he would back it. He says the deal will not come as a surprise.

Continue reading...

Northern Ireland protocol: key issues revised deal must address

Posted on by

Trade and governance will be at centre of new post-Brexit pact, but what about other areas of disagreement?

Named the “new Windsor framework”, the revised Northern Ireland protocol has been described as a “decisive breakthrough” by Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

What does it mean and what are the big breakthroughs?

Continue reading...

News that king will host EU chief sparks fury from DUP and Brexiters

Posted on by

Rishi Sunak accused of ‘dragging the king into a hugely controversial political issue’

The king will host the EU chief, Ursula von der Leyen, after the signing of the final Northern Ireland protocol agreement with Rishi Sunak, prompting a furious reaction from the Democratic Unionist party and Tory Brexiters, who accused the prime minister of dragging the monarch into politics.

The former DUP first minister Arlene Foster said she “cannot quite believe that No 10 would ask HM the king to become involved in the finalising of a deal as controversial as this one. It’s crass and will go down very badly in NI. We must remember this is not the king’s decision but the government, who it appears is tone deaf.”

Continue reading...

DUP leader faces stark and binary choice over any NI protocol deal

Posted on by

Jeffrey Donaldson risks internal revolt if he accepts deal but rejecting it will threaten future of power sharing

The Democratic Unionist party has said any Northern Ireland protocol deal must meet its “seven tests” but they omit the one that really matters: the test of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s leadership.

The seven conditions concern laws and trading rules, which have room for fudge and ambiguity.

Continue reading...

Brexit: Ursula von der Leyen to travel to UK for talks with Rishi Sunak

Posted on by

European Commission chief heading to Britain with Northern Ireland deal expected as soon as Monday

Rishi Sunak is to hold face-to-face talks with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, with a deal to revise post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland expected as soon as Monday.

“Today, president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and prime minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak agreed to continue their work in person towards shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland,” a joint statement said.

Continue reading...

NI protocol: Sunak criticised over ‘plans for EU chief to meet king’

Posted on by

Meeting between Charles and Ursula von de Leyen cancelled, reports say, as Varadkar says deal ‘inching towards conclusion’

Rishi Sunak is facing criticism after reports that a meeting between King Charles and the president of the European Commission was cancelled days before the announcement of an expected deal on the Northern Ireland protocol.

According to reports, there had been plans for an in-person meeting between the king and Ursula von der Leyen, as part of a trip to the UK to seal the deal on the Brexit trading arrangements.

Continue reading...

Sunak could announce Northern Ireland protocol deal on Monday

Posted on by

Move would come after four months of intense negotiations and mark an end to two-year standoff with EU

Rishi Sunak is poised to announce a deal to end the protracted row over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol as soon as Monday, the Guardian has been told.

The move would come after four months of intense negotiations and mark an end to a two-year standoff with the EU. But in a huge political gamble for the prime minister, it may trigger a fresh battle with pro-Brexit Conservative backbenchers in the European Research Group (ERG) and the Democratic Unionist party (DUP).

Continue reading...

Sunak suggests MPs will vote on proposed NI protocol deal and accuses Starmer of wanting to ‘surrender’ to EU – UK politics live

Posted on by

Latest updates: PM says Commons will be given a chance to ‘express its view’ on any final deal

British Steel has announced the closure of the coking ovens at its Scunthorpe works with the loss of 260 jobs, my colleague Jasper Jolly reports.

Graeme Wearden has reaction to this on his business live blog.

Continue reading...

Sunak ‘relaxed’ about DUP and Tory backlash over Northern Ireland deal

Posted on by

Prime minister and EU press ahead on protocol agreement before momentum slips

Rishi Sunak is preparing to face down his Brexit critics and press ahead with a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol if he can secure one in the coming days, government sources have said.

The prime minister was said to be “relaxed” about a growing backlash over what hardline Eurosceptic MPs fear will amount to little more than a “glossary” on “how to implement” the existing protocol.

Continue reading...

Government to hold new talks with EU on NI protocol ‘in coming days’, says foreign secretary – as it happened

Posted on by

James Cleverly’s comments come after No 10 said ‘no deal has been done as yet’

James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, will discuss the Northern Ireland protocol in a call with the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič this afternoon, PA Media reports. They will be joined by the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, amid expectations both sides are inching closer to a deal.

Micheál Martin, the Irish foreign minister and tánaiste (deputy PM), has urged UK politicians not to play politics with the Northern Ireland protocol negotiations. Speaking in Brussels, where he has been attending the EU foreign affairs council, he said:

I think what’s very important is that everybody now from here on think about the people of Northern Ireland.

Not power play, not politics elsewhere, I think the people of Northern Ireland have had enough of that, of people playing politics with their future. And, in my view, my only concern is that the people of Northern Ireland voted [in last May’s assembly election], they want their institutions [at Stormont] restored.

Continue reading...

DUP says ‘progress made but more work needed’ in Northern Ireland protocol talks with Sunak – UK politics live

Posted on by

Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says negotiations should be led by ‘getting it right and not timelines’ as Sinn Féin president says indications are ‘heartening’

Labour will offer Rishi Sunak the additional votes he needs to get a Northern Ireland protocol deal through parliament, the shadow justice secretary has said.

Steve Reed told reporters:

We’ll wait and see what the government is coming forward with. It’s very important for everybody in the United Kingdom that this problem is resolved. It’s a problem that is of this government’s own making, of course.

He added:

We have got the prime minister today in Northern Ireland, we hope with a deal to resolve the issues around the Northern Ireland protocol.

What we do not want to happen is that that self-same prime minister then rips up the Human Rights Act, which underpins the Good Friday agreement, because if he puts peace in Northern Ireland in peril in that way, that is an act of unforgivable irresponsibility for which you would never be forgiven.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak travels to Belfast in sign NI protocol deal is imminent

Posted on by

Visit suggests announcement of UK-EU solution on Northern Ireland could come as early as Friday

Rishi Sunak arrived in Belfast on Thursday night, in a sign that a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol is imminent.

The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, will also travel to Brussels on Friday for talks with the European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič.

Continue reading...

Deal on Northern Ireland protocol ‘could be struck next week’

Posted on by

Negotiations are in crucial final phase with Rishi Sunak preparing to hold calls with EU leaders

Negotiations over the Northern Ireland protocol are in the crucial final phase with a deal possible as early as next week, according to multiple sources.

Rishi Sunak is expected to spend the latter half of the parliamentary recess this week looking at the shape of the deal, with calls pencilled in with EU leaders. However, UK sources stressed that talks were at a delicate phase and there was no guarantee of a final agreement.

Continue reading...

Brexit Northern Ireland protocol is lawful, supreme court rules

Posted on by

Judges reject legal challenge to UK-EU trade arrangements by group of unionist leaders

The Northern Ireland protocol is lawful, the supreme court has ruled, rejecting a legal challenge to the Brexit arrangements by a group of unionist leaders including the former first ministers the late David Trimble and Arlene Foster.

Five law lords presiding in the highest court in the UK unanimously dismissed the appeal on all three grounds including the claims that the Brexit trading arrangements breached the 1800 Act of Union and the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Continue reading...

Leo Varadkar admits regrets over Northern Ireland protocol

Posted on by

Ireland’s taoiseach regrets Brexit arrangement imposed without agreement of unionists and nationalists

Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has said he regrets that the Northern Ireland protocol he agreed with Boris Johnson to end a Brexit impasse was signed without the agreement of unionists and nationalists.

The admission came as the latest deadline to restore powersharing in Northern Ireland passed with the Democratic Unionist party continuing to refuse to take part in protest against the protocol.

Continue reading...

UK to further delay calling Northern Ireland election as Brexit talks continue

Posted on by

EU sources say progress in protocol dispute is slow despite growing momentum

The UK government is to further delay calling an election in Northern Ireland to give Brexit talks a chance.

Senior EU sources said “slow progress” was being made in talks between the UK and Brussels, dampening hopes of a breakthrough by the end of January on the protracted dispute over the Northern Ireland protocol.

Continue reading...

Brexit: Northern Ireland protocol ‘perhaps a bit too strict’, says Varadkar

Posted on by

Irish PM says he understands unionists’ concerns and he will be ‘flexible and reasonable’ on matter

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, has said mistakes were made on all sides in the handling of Brexit, vowing to be “flexible and reasonable” when attempting to solve issues with the Northern Ireland protocol.

“One thing I have said in the past is that, when we designed the protocol, when it was originally negotiated, perhaps it was a little bit too strict,” the taoiseach said, speaking in Dublin.

Continue reading...