The Government and the European Union expect British prime minister Rishi Sunak to proceed with the new deal on the Northern Ireland protocol even if the DUP ultimately rejects it, according to sources in Dublin and Brussels.
Mr Sunak embarked on a determined effort to sell the new Windsor Framework agreement on post-Brexit trading arrangements yesterday, visiting Northern Ireland where he hailed the deal as creating “the world’s most exciting” economic zone.
The DUP said it would carefully assess the agreement before taking a position, with party leader Jeffrey Donaldson telling reporters at Westminster his party will not be rushed into a decision. “We will take our time collectively to consider what is on the table, to examine it both in legal and economic terms,” he said. “This is important and I want to get it right.”
But sources with knowledge of discussions at Irish Government and EU level say they expect Mr Sunak to push on with the deal even if the DUP does not support it.
The prime minister’s spokesman said yesterday that Mr Sunak believes he has secured “the right deal for all parties in Northern Ireland”, adding that Downing Street would answer “questions about how it works in practice” but did not anticipate making any further changes.
The North has been without a functioning government for a year since the DUP refused to re-enter powersharing until its protocol concerns were addressed.
A pivotal moment for Northern Ireland
During his brief visit, Mr Sunak said the new framework put the North in an “unbelievably special position”.
He said it was a “unique position in the entire world, European continent – in having privileged access, not just to the UK home market, which is enormous, but also the European Union single market.
“Nobody else has that. No one. Only you guys: only here, and that is the prize.”
Asked later about the future of devolution if the DUP fails to back the deal, Mr Sunak said: “We are confident that the Windsor Framework delivers in resolving the issues and challenges that people had so I think it represents a very positive step forward. But ultimately this is about the people of Northern Ireland and doing the right thing for them in respecting their aspirations and identities.”
Back in London yesterday evening, he addressed the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers back at Westminster, where first-hand accounts suggest he received an enthusiastic response.
“Many of us congratulated the prime minister on his historic achievement,” prominent Brexiteer Daniel Kawczynski said after the meeting. “He has achieved an agreement that the vast majority of Conservative MPs can vote for.”
However, hardline Eurosceptic MPs in the European Research Group said they would await a legal analysis of the text before taking a position.
Expectation is mounting that the deal will pass a vote of in the House of Commons, even without the backing that has already been pledged by Labour.
Downing Street earlier declined to put any timeline on a vote, saying the prime minister wants to give the DUP space to assess the deal first. There is “no deadline”, a spokesman said.
He confirmed that the North’s “unfettered access” to trade with Britain would commence next month, as soon as a joint committee of Britain and the EU meets to kick-start provisions of the framework.
In Dublin, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin briefed the Cabinet on the agreement at its weekly meeting. A Government spokesman said the agreement contained a series of “practical and sustainable measures” that the two sides considered necessary to deal with “unforeseen circumstances or deficiencies that have emerged since the start of the protocol”.
