Rishi Sunak knows what he must do in Northern Ireland. He cannot cringe any longer before that region’s backwoodsmen and their cheerleaders in his own party. Unlike his predecessors, he has nothing to lose, with probably just two years in office. He clearly has a deal on a revised Irish trade protocol with the EU on the table, and he has the parliamentary votes to push it through. His reputation has no time for error.
The partition of Ireland was born a century ago to appease northern Protestant sentiment. That sentiment has ever since abused self-rule – under licence from London – with blatantly sectarian government. This was sustainable as long as trade and citizenship were left fluid across Ireland, with both sides of the border still partners in the European single market.
