Boris Johnson has urged Rishi Sunak not to abandon the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which was set in motion when Johnson was Prime Minister. The bill would give the Westminster government the power to unilaterally decide to move away from the current arrangements for Northern Ireland. The source close to Johnson said it would be a “great mistake” to move away from his plan.
The bill is currently paused in Parliament while the UK and EU try to hammer out a new deal. Following the latest round of talks on Saturday, Sunak warned an agreement was “by no means done” and said there were still “challenges to work through”. Johnson believes no one can make a judgement until people have seen the text, which the government hopes to release early next week.
The controversy over the Protocol has led to a political vacuum in Stormont in recent months, with the DUP blocking the functioning of devolved government in Northern Ireland in protest against the trade rules. Securing the party’s support for any deal will be crucial for the future of the political institutions at Stormont. Iain Duncan Smith wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that any deal that kept Northern Ireland subject to EU law and regulations would prevent the DUP from returning to power-sharing at Stormont and threaten the Good Friday Agreement.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson held talks with European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen in Munich in an effort to secure an agreement to resolve the tensions. Downing Street said it was a “positive discussion” and there had been “very good progress to find solutions”.
The Northern Ireland Protocol is the trade deal that was agreed to ensure the free movement of goods across the Irish land border after Brexit. It came into effect in 2021 and has resulted in checks on goods travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Unionist parties argue that placing an effective trade border across the Irish Sea undermines Northern Ireland’s place within the UK.
A majority of members of the Stormont assembly are in favour of the protocol in some form remaining in place. Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party and the SDLP have said improvements to the protocol are needed to ease its implementation. Johnson’s proposed legislation allowing the UK to unilaterally abandon part of the current arrangements had inflamed tensions between Westminster and Brussels, which Sunak is straining to smooth. If issues with the ongoing protocol arrangements could be resolved then there would be no need for the bill to go further in Parliament.
The government is hoping to release a text of a new deal early next week and expects a debate and vote about it in the House of Commons soon. Securing the support of both the EU and the DUP will be crucial for any agreement. Johnson believes that no judgement can be made until people have seen the text, while Sunak warned that there are still “challenges to work through”.