MPs pass Stormont legislation at Westminster

[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68155422](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68155422)

MPs have passed legislation to implement a deal aimed at restoring power sharing in Northern Ireland.

The plan, which was published on Wednesday, will mean no routine checks on goods crossing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who negotiated it with the government, had said that his party would return to Stormont if the legislation passed.

The DUP’s boycott was in protest over trade arrangements after Brexit.

It had demanded changes to the way goods are traded between Northern Ireland and Great Britain in order for it to end its Stormont standoff, which lasted nearly two years.

On Monday night, the DUP’s 120-strong executive agreed to endorse the deal.

Speaking during Thursday’s debate, Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris said that when Stormont is up and running Northern Ireland politicians “will be able to deliver strong government, make the right decisions for Northern Ireland and make Northern Ireland a much more prosperous place”.

Of the deal agreed earlier this week, he said: “Crucially, this legislation will also change the law so that new regulatory borders between Great Britain and Northern Ireland cannot emerge through future agreements with the European Union.

“This is an important new safeguard to futureproof Northern Ireland’s constitutional status.”

​

Goods lorries travelling through Northern Ireland ports have been subject to checks since January 2021

Sir Jeffrey told the Commons that the NI Protocol “undermined the principle of consent” in the eyes of unionists, which he said was “at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement”.

He added: “The new measures and legislation reset the balance so it is the principle of consent and the will of the people of Northern Ireland alone that will determine the future of our country as part of the United Kingdom.”

Mr Heaton-Harris replied: “The whole point of what we’re doing here today is to try to get government by consent back up and running in Stormont in the future.”

However, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the command paper undermined the Good Friday Agreement and questioned whether the government had “moved away from the principle of rigorous impartiality”.

Later Mr Eastwood said that Sir Jeffrey had “done a lot of good work over the last couple of weeks” and that he had been very brave as it was “not an easy thing to face down people within your own constituency”.

However, he said he wanted to put on record that the SDLP opposed the command paper as it undermined north-south co-operation and placed too much emphasis on east-west.

Sir Jeffrey said Mr Eastwood had made his point “with fortitude and determination” but he would understand that as a unionist he was focused on preserving and strengthening the United Kingdom.

‘Grasp the opportunity’

Later, debating the second part of the legislation, Steve Baker, minister of state for Northern Ireland, said the institutional arrangements for Stormont and the government’s £3.3bn financial package represented a big opportunity for Northern Ireland.

“If Northern Ireland politicians reach out and grasp the opportunity before them – my goodness, they can make Northern Ireland a beacon before the world, a beacon of prosperity, I hope a beacon of reconciliation, and these regulations today are part of that process,” he said.

Asked by Mr Eastwood if he supported the part of the Good Friday Agreement which demands the UK government remain “rigorously impartial” Mr Baker said he “absolutely” does.

He said that the agreement reached with the DUP is compatible “both with our unionism and with our full respect of all dimensions of the Belfast Agreement”.

Shadow Secretary of State Hilary Benn said he hoped the second piece of legislation would be passed unanimously, as the first one was.

“Once we’ve done our bit today it will be over to the politicians of Northern Ireland,” he added, wishing them all the best.

Lords Dodds said the Irish Sea Border still exists

DUP MP Sammy Wilson told the Commons that he does not support the deal.

He said it was important to examine the detail and he didn’t think the way the legislation had been “hurried through” allows for this examination.

Meanwhile in the House of Lords, DUP peer Lord Dodds welcomed the creation of new bodies under the new agreement such as InterTrade UK and the East-West Council, adding: “I commend and congratulate all those who have been involved in the talks.”

But he said there were “many, many unionists who are deeply worried and concerned that the Irish Sea Border – and we must drill down into the details of this deal – that the Irish Sea border still exists”.

He said this was because “many goods coming from Great Britain, British goods coming to Northern Ireland, especially in manufacturing, still need to go through full EU compliance checks and procedures”.

​

Strains on DUP bench

Analysis box by Enda McClafferty, NI political editor

They were sitting on the same bench but clearly don’t share the same view of the deal secured by their party

While Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been talking up the positives of the agreement he negotiated, his colleague Sammy Wilson has been knocking them down.

The tension between the pair has been laid bare.

At one point, the DUP leader suggested his colleague should read the agreement.

“I urge the member for East Antrim to read all the document,” he said.

In another veiled swipe at his internal critics, Sir Jeffrey reminded the House that all his MPs supported the red lane arrangements in a previous bill.

The same arrangements some of his MPs complained about in the Commons debate on Thursday.

There is no disguising the strains on the DUP bench which are unlikely to ease anytime soon.

​

What’s in the deal?

It will reduce checks and paperwork on goods moving from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland.

It means there would no longer be “routine” checks on Great Britain goods which are sent to Northern Ireland with the intention of staying there.

Those changes involve the maximum flexibility allowed under a previous EU/UK deal it is understood will be acceptable to the EU.

​

What exactly is in the DUP deal?

On Tuesday, the UK and EU Joint Committee reached an agreement to make changes to that deal to allow Northern Ireland to benefit from UK Free Trade Agreements.

The UK Government will also pass two pieces of legislation to guarantee Northern Ireland goods can be sold in Great Britain in all circumstances and to affirm Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.

​

What happens on Thursday?

MPs in the Commons are debating the legislation – known as Statutory Instruments – with the option of a vote, though it may not end up going to a formal division.

It is anticipated that the two bits of legislation will be signed off by MPs in the Commons in a matter of hours.

On Wednesday, Sir Jeffrey repeatedly defended the deal, saying it delivers for the people of Northern Ireland but acknowledged that some in his party and wider unionism have issues with it.

​

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris held a joint press conference on Wednesday

But he described it as a “trust issue – not in me but in whether the government will deliver what they have committed to do”.

“I believe we have built in sufficient safeguards which allow them to deliver what is being offered.”

​

Criticism from within the party

After the deal was published, Sammy Wilson – the MP for East Antrim – was critical of the government describing it as “spineless and weak-kneed”, and that EU laws will still be imposed which politicians at Stormont have no say over.

Another DUP MP, Paul Girvan, said the government was trying to “bounce” a timetable by fast-tracking the legislation through Parliament on Thursday.

However, at a joint press conference with the DUP leader, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said the proposals represented the “right deal” for Northern Ireland and the focus was now on delivering it “swiftly”.

The DUP has said it will re-enter the power-sharing assembly at Stormont subject to the delivery of the legislation at Westminster, which appears on track to happen very quickly.

​

Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill is in line to become the first nationalist first minister at Stormont

​

When exactly could power-sharing return?

There is an expectation that, if things go according to plan, MLAs could be called to a sitting of the assembly this weekend, with some politicians saying they expect this to happen on Saturday.

The first order of business for members (MLAs) when they enter the assembly chamber will be to elect a new Speaker – this must happen before anything else.

Once the Speaker is elected, the parties entitled to jointly lead the executive – the body that makes decisions and policy in Northern Ireland – will make their nominations.

For the first time Sinn Féin will nominate a first minister because it won the most seats in the assembly election in May 2022.

The DUP, as the largest unionist party, will nominate a deputy first minister for the first time.

Although the first and deputy first ministers are joint offices and both hold equal power, Michelle O’Neill becoming the first-ever republican first minister of Northern Ireland will mark a symbolic moment.

by isfuathliomreddit