PM ‘resolute’ on Northern Ireland deal
RISHI Sunak promised to be “resolute” in defending Northern Ireland as he seeks a deal to rewrite the terms of its post-Brexit arrangements.
The Prime Minister indicated that he would put any new deal to a vote in the Commons, risking a showdown with Eurosceptics on the Tory benches.
The UK Government and the European Union are still negotiating changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol, the arrangements aimed at preventing a hard border with Ireland.
Mr Sunak told MPs: “I am a Conservative, a Brexiter and a unionist, and any agreement that we reach needs to tick all three boxes. It needs to ensure sovereignty for Northern Ireland, it needs to safeguard Northern Ireland’s place in our union, and it needs to find practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses.
“I will be resolute in fighting for what is best for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.”
The Prime Minister spoke to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday night, Downing Street said.
“The leaders discussed the good progress made in the negotiations. Intensive discussions continue. They agreed to speak again in the coming days,” the spokesman said.
Mr Sunak was also due to speak virtually to Northern Ireland businesses yesterday.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party’s MPs would vote to get a deal through the Commons, suggesting that Mr Sunak should rely on Opposition support rather than trying to win over the “irreconcilables”, “malcontents” and “wreckers” on the Tory benches.
He said the Prime Minister had to be “honest” that there would be a continued role for the European Court of Justice and Northern Ireland would have to continue to follow some of Brussels’ laws.
Mr Sunak said he wanted a deal that guaranteed “sovereignty for Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland’s place in our precious union” and provided “practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses”.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told Mr Sunak: “It is unacceptable that Northern Ireland has been put in this place with a protocol imposed upon us, that harms our place in the UK. It must be replaced with arrangements that are acceptable and restore our place in the UK and its internal market.”
He warned that it was “unacceptable” for EU laws to be imposed on Northern Ireland with no democratic scrutiny or consent”.
Mr Sunak said addressing the “democratic deficit” was an essential part of the negotiations with Brussels and he had heard the DUP’s concerns “loud and clear”.