Labor leader, Keir Starmer, promises the ‘premier’ that his parliamentary group will support an agreement between London and Brussels on the Irish Protocol
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer has promised Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that his parliamentary group will support a London-Brussels deal on the Northern Irish Protocol. Starmer’s assurance came on Friday, after three days of meetings in Northern Ireland, which followed the announcement on Monday that the UK and the European Union are close to an agreement on a new customs regime.
Analysts in the media have suggested that the progress of the negotiations could lead to the bankruptcy of the conservative parliamentary group. A faction that supported Boris Johnson also supports the former prime minister’s strategy of challenging the EU to a trade war, unilaterally changing the status of Northern Ireland agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement.
Processing of Johnson’s treaty-breaking law was advancing in Parliament, but since November 7 there has been no movement on the bill, stuck in the final phase of scrutiny and amendments in the House of Lords. Instead, ‘a change of music’ has been encouraged in the relationship with Brussels, according to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
The tune is not danced in Ulster. The unionist leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, has stated that “we are not close” to an agreement. According to him, the understanding announced on Monday is about technical issues and other more political issues remain to be resolved. His party, the DUP, will boycott Northern Ireland’s home rule until there is an agreement to their satisfaction.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar warned after meetings with parties and business associations that an agreement may be found between London and Brussels, but that it will not lead to the restoration of autonomy. He, Cleverly and the Irish Foreign Secretary, Michéal Martin, who met with the British Minister for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, deny that there is a deadline.
not to McDonald’s
Labor Starmer is more adventurous. He claims there is “a brief window of opportunity” for the deal. It must be reached before April 10, the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. He invoked the spirit of that negotiation to support Sunak against his rebels, because, according to Starmer, “it is time to put Northern Ireland above a Brexit sect that is never satisfied.”
The chain of meetings and declarations in the last three days began with a surprise. Minister Cleverly called a meeting with the Northern parties, but did not invite Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald. Only Michelle O’Neill, leader of the party in the North. O’Neill resigned from the meeting and also the leader of the Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP), Colum Eastwood.
Sinn Féin is the only Irish party to be organized across the island and present in Parliament in Dublin and Belfast. McDonald called his exclusion the result of “conservative petulance.” Cleverly aides argued that McDonald is the leader of the opposition in Dublin or that it is diplomatically improper to meet with her before the Irish foreign minister. The second part of this duel is awaited with interest.
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