Joint letter from 2016 could provide template for a deal

Tom Kelly

“THIS region is unique. There have been difficult issues relating to the border throughout our history and the peace process. We, therefore, appreciate your stated determination that the border will not become an impediment to the movement of people, goods and services. The border has significance for the agri-food sector and animal health.

“It’s critical to our economy that our businesses, both indigenous and FDI companies, retain their competitiveness and do not incur additional costs. We, therefore, need to retain as far as possible the ease with which we currently trade with EU member states and, importantly, retain access to labour — unskilled as well as skilled.

“This not only applies to the private sector, but also to the public sector, who are heavily dependent on EU and other migrant labour. Energy is another key priority... nothing in the negotiation process should undermine this vital aspect of our economy. Our agri-food sector — and hence our wider economy — is uniquely vulnerable to the loss of EU funding and potential tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade.”

The above comments are not from the keyboard of some cappuccino-supping liberal, or lettuce-munching Leftie. No, they are excerpts written from the desk of none other than the former First Minister, DUP leader Arlene Foster, on behalf of the Executive Office and co-signed by the late Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness on August 10, 2016.

The letter is not only addressed to the Prime Minister, but to others, including the-then leading Brexit-supporting ministers Boris Johnson, David Davis, Andrea Leadsom and Liam Fox.

Words, as we know, matter and those that leap from that letter are those which emphasise the Brexit impact on Northern Ireland: unique; difficulties; impediment; significance; priority. It also identifies the need for access to labour, free movement of people, goods and services, retention of the ease of access as we currently have when trading with the EU member states, the importance of our particular energy needs and the impact on our agri-food sector.

The DUP has never resiled from the contents of that letter. How could it, as it is made up of its wish-list while in office?

Prime Minister Theresa May knows full-well the contents of the letter. The special case being made for Northern Ireland was not crafted by some wily, unseen bureaucrat in Whitehall — it was concocted at the heart of the DUP-dominated Executive.

Northern Ireland’s special status has even been at the heart of the DUP/Tory ‘confidence and supply’ agreement — how else could you make a case for a £1bn bonanza when the place is already subvented by the UK taxpayer to the tune of £10bn per annum.

The DUP, like unionists of previous generations, is likely to over-play its hand. Those, like Carson and Craig, who thought Ireland wouldn’t be partitioned, were wrong; those like Chichester-Clark and Harry West, who thought Stormont wouldn’t be prorogued, were wrong; those like Paisley and Molyneaux, who thought they would face down Thatcher over the Anglo-Irish Agreement, were wrong; those that resisted the Good Friday Agreement ended up travelling the world selling it as a template for peace-building.

The Prime Minister is in an invidious position. She is faced with unsavoury treachery from within the Tory party and by political blackmail from the DUP.

To her credit, she has done nothing, or said anything, so far which impacts on the integrity of the constitutional position of Northern Ireland within the UK.

The DUP knows this. It is the type of agitator that starts a fire and then rushes to the scene to put it out.

The threat to pull the plug on Mrs May would be a kamikaze act of monumental proportions. A Tory leadership race would take months and the party would pull itself apart. A general election would follow — a general election that the DUP can ill-afford.

Anger over Brexit, the outcome of the RHI Inquiry and possibly an inquiry into the Social Investment Fund would give an impetus for the Northern Ireland electorate to choose any candidate but the DUP. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein can sit back and benefit from the ensuing chaos.

If the Prime Minister can frame a Brexit deal within the context of that joint letter of August 2016, there will be relief all around; from Brussels to Belfast and from Merrion Street to Downing Street.