Rishi Sunak is right to think that securing a new deal on Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements with the European Union is a “turning point”. Nowhere does Brexit’s promise to slash red tape ring more hollow than in the region. The revised terms of the protocol will soften the Irish Sea border, but will not end it. That is likely to be the stick waved at the prime minister by hardline Brexiters in his party. Yet these are the MPs – led by Boris Johnson – who claimed that the Irish border would be unaffected by leaving the EU. It is the Conservative party’s failure to confront this thinking head on that has done so much damage to the country.
The prime minister is taking a calculated risk. Mr Sunak plainly desires a better working relationship with Brussels. The Tory leader wants to be able to get on with reviving the UK economy and ensure that his summit with the French president next month gets a deal on small boat crossings. Britain would gain from having better relations with our European friends. Mr Sunak’s approach has brought an immediate benefit. No longer is the UK is likely to breach international law after the prime minister dropped the Johnson-era bill designed to dodge the government’s own EU deal.
