LONDON — The people of Northern Ireland “need and deserve” their power-sharing government to be up and running again, Rishi Sunak said Tuesday in Belfast as he tries to sell his new deal with the EU to sceptical unionist politicians.
The British prime minister is in the Northern Irish capital to talk up the Windsor framework deal on the Northern Ireland protocol, which was secured Monday after months of talks over the contentious post-Brexit trade rules for the region.
Sunak and his U.K. government are keen to secure the blessing of the Democratic Unionist Party — who are so far keeping their counsel — which walked out of the power-sharing institutions last year in protest at the protocol. But Sunak hinted Tuesday that the deal could be imposed on Northern Ireland whether the DUP agree or not.
“The framework is what we have agreed with the European Union,” he said when asked by the BBC if the agreement would go ahead regardless. “This is not necessarily about me or any one political party. This is about what’s best for the people and communities and businesses of Northern Ireland.”
“I’ve been very clear that people in Northern Ireland need and deserve their government to be up and running — that’s what democracy is about, ” he added.
Asked eight times by Sky News if the DUP had the power to scupper the deal by withholding consent, Sunak’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly would only state that it would be “hugely disappointing” if the DUP opted not to re-enter power-sharing.
Sunak’s deal is the subject of intense debate within the DUP. Responding to the deal Monday, the party’s leader Jeffrey Donaldson had warm words for the agreement’s “Stormont Brake,” which would give the Northern Irish Assembly — shut for the past 10 months by DUP obstruction — new powers to block the automatic rollout of new EU goods rules across the U.K. region, a core DUP demand.
Donaldson reaffirmed Tuesday that “progress has been made”. However, his party — and its large legal team — are continuing to pore over the detail.
“We continue to have some concerns. We will examine the legal text, look at all of this in the round and come to a decision,” Donaldson told the BBC Tuesday.
“We’re reasonable people,” he added.
In the meantime, Sunak continues to pitch his deal to both those in Belfast and to his own MPs. While Tory MPs have so-far largely been positive, the arch-Brexiteer — and often rebellious — European Research Group of MPs are set to convene Tuesday evening to scrutinize the detail.
Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, Sunak critic and author of the original protocol, is also yet to offer a public view.
Shawn Pogatchnik contributed reporting
