Rishi Sunak is expected to travel to Northern Ireland later, after securing a deal with the EU that he promised would be a “turning point” for the region after years of post-Brexit tensions.
The new deal, dubbed the Windsor Framework, removes barriers on trade across the Irish Sea and hands a “veto” to politicians in Stormont on EU law – a set of concessions from Brussels that went further than some expected. But it still includes a role for the European Court of Justice, with the Democratic Unionist Party and Tory backbenchers now set to study closely the details of the complex set of arrangements in the coming days.
The Prime Minister, who is also expected to speak to backbench MPs on Tuesday, spoke at length in the Commons on the deal as he sought to see off any threat of rebellion from within his own ranks. But the reception so far has been warm, with DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson welcoming “significant progress” even as he warned that “there remain key issues of concern” regarding the deal. The view of the party will be crucial, if the deal is to help restore powersharing at Stormont.
