British prime minister Rishi Sunak has offered Brexit concessions to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in return for the party’s co-operation in restoring the Stormont executive, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.
Next month marks the two-year anniversary of the collapse of powersharing after former DUP first minister Paul Givan quit in protest at his party’s opposition to post-Brexit trading arrangements.
The DUP has come under increasing pressure to end its boycott. A new deadline for calling a fresh Northern Ireland Assembly election if a Stormont executive is not formed has been set for February 8th.
The “Irish Sea border”, as it has been dubbed, was introduced as part of the Windsor Framework last year to avoid a politically divisive trade border re-emerging between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Customs and regulatory documentary checks and inspections have, since 2021, been carried out between Britain and Northern Ireland at ports in Northern Ireland, as EU rules on product standards and food health and sanitation continue to be followed in the North.
The DUP has been fiercely critical of the arrangement, arguing that it separates Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK and represents an unacceptable violation of the UK’s constitutional integrity.
According to the report in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Sunak has sought to placate the DUP with an undertaking to introduce a requirement that all new laws are screened to ensure they will not create extra trade barriers in the Irish Sea.
All legislation would have to be accompanied by a ministerial statement confirming it did not have a “significant adverse effect” on internal UK trade.
However, it remains unclear if Mr Sunak will be able to win over the hardliners in his party, and the move has angered Tory MPs who have warned that introducing such a policy would make it almost impossible for Britain to diverge from EU rules.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, said: “This means we will not diverge at all, and we will have ended up with Theresa May’s Chequers deal in all but name.
“I voted against the Windsor Framework because it subordinates part of the UK to the EU. This mechanism would restore part of the EU hegemony over us.”
Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, said the plan was “a real problem”. He added: “The Windsor framework is the back door to the EU holding on to the UK and stopping us diverging. It should be replaced.”
Asked about the offer from Mr Sunak, a UK government spokesman said: “We do not comment on speculation.
“We believe there is a strong basis for a restoration of power-sharing, and we remain hopeful that this can be fixed soon.”
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