The issue of Europe has split the Conservative Party for decades – so what happens now?

Britain’s relationship with its continental neighbours has forced a number of Tory prime ministers out of Downing Street. Sean O’Grady wonders if we could finally be about to see an end to the infighting

Something like peace in the eternal Tory civil war may finally be at hand (PA)

Europe has divided the Conservatives since the 1950s, when the British first posited the idea of joining a new European economic community. Initially opposed to the concept, they then changed their minds to become the party of Europe in the 1970s and 80s, before changing them back again in the 2010s, ending up as the party of Brexit.

Now Rishi Sunak has won an improbable deal with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol, which means that something like peace in the eternal Tory civil war may be at hand... but a number of questions remain.

How does Sunak’s Windsor Framework compare with the efforts of his predecessors?