Brexit deal – latest news: No 10 suggests no changes can be made to Windsor Agreement
‘We think we have secured the right deal for all parties in Northern Ireland’, says Downing Street
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There is no room for any changes to be made to the new Brexit deal, No 10 has indicated following the announcement of the “historic” agreement.
Asked if Rishi Sunak might return to Brussels to ask for any changes requested by the DUP, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “Certainly I think you heard the prime minister asked similar questions today. We think we have secured the right deal for all parties in Northern Ireland.
“We stand ready to have further talks with those parties if they have questions about how it works in practice, indeed, we did a great deal of that in the run up to this announcement.”
Mr Sunak travelled to Northern Ireland after securing a deal with the EU that he promised would be a “turning point” for the region after years of post-Brexit tensions.
The so-called Windsor Framework was earlier hailed as “historic” by the European Commission president, who insisted the deal marked a “new chapter” in UK-EU relations at a press conference with the prime minister.
No 10 suggests no changes can be made to Windsor Agreement
There is no room for any changes to be made to the Brexit deal, No 10 has indicated following the announcement of the historic agreement.
Asked if Rishi Sunak might return to Brussels to ask for any changes requested by the DUP, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “Certainly I think you heard the Prime Minister asked similar questions today. We think we have secured the right deal for all parties in Northern Ireland.
“We stand ready to have further talks with those parties if they have questions about how it works in practice, indeed, we did a great deal of that in the run up to this announcement.”
We are pausing live politics updates for the day. Join us again tomorrow and, in the meantime, take a look through today’s top stories here.
For a rundown of the action surrounding the new Brexit deal, see Adam Forrest and Kate Devlin’s latest story:
No changes to Brexit deal, DUP warned
PM’s spokesman said government believes it had secured ‘the right deal for all parties in Northern Ireland’
New Brexit deal ‘far surpassed all expectations'
Former Northern Ireland secretary Lord Hain has congratulated the prime minister on the new Brexit deal, which he said “far surpassed all expectations”.
The Labour peer called out critics in the Conservative Party and in Northern Ireland for their “intemperate reactions”.
He argued that they are “almost saying Northern Ireland should not remain within the single market and the logic of that would mean the external customs frontier of the European Union would be across the island of Ireland and it would be a hard border.
“They should come clean about that if that’s what they mean.”
Former DUP deputy leader presses government for clarification over Windsor Framework
Former DUP deputy leader Lord Dodds has pressed the government for clarification over the provisions of the Windsor Framework.
He said: “The crucial question is whether or not people in Northern Ireland continue to be denied equal status democratically and constitutionally with our fellow countrymen and women as the result of consequences for separation and economic divergence from the rest of the United Kingdom?”
He added: “For accuracy, can the (Lords) leader confirm to what extent Northern Ireland will continue to governed by EU laws and subject to EU legal jurisdiction for large parts of our economy for which no consent has ever been sought or given?”
“On the Stormont brake, can he confirm that as currently set out it does not give the final say or block to the Northern Ireland Assembly, even on a cross-community vote, but can be overridden by a minister here and will leave us subject in terms to retaliatory measures against the United Kingdom as a whole by the EU?”
Responding, Tory leader of the Lords Lord True said the brake would be triggered by the assembly but added: “It would be the British government that would operate the veto.
“That would be a very open process. One would expect the British government would give the very greatest weight to the points that had been put forward by the Stormont assembly.”
He pointed out under the revised deal only 3% of EU law would remain in place in Northern Ireland, with some 1,700 pages removed.
Windsor Framework an ‘outbreak of common sense'
Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, branded the Windsor Framework an “outbreak of common sense”.
However, he raised concerns expressed by the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland - a sister party of the Liberal Democrats - that the Stormont brake could lead to instability if used too often.
He said: “The only aspect that raises an immediate warning flag to me is the Stormont brake.
“If it is indeed only used in exceptional circumstances, that is one thing. But if it came to be used regularly, it could in itself lead to serious instability and uncertainty.”
He went on to urge the Prime Minister to equally meet with all parties from Northern Ireland, not just the DUP, to go over any outstanding issues with the agreement.
Lord Newby also urged the Northern Irish parties to reform an executive, pointing out there needs to be an administration in place to trigger the Stormont brake in the first place.
Lords leader Lord True agreed that the restoration of institutions in Northern Ireland is “a priority”.
Former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Lilley has argued the Windsor Framework was only able to be negotiated because the government was threatening to unilaterally tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol.
He said: “All of us can agree that it is a major step forward which the Prime Minister has achieved, infinitely superior to what was in the protocol, and validating his decision to ignore those who wanted to make a stemporary and transitional arrangement permanent and implement it in full, as so many over there did.
“Was not the Prime Minister right to follow Teddy Roosevelt’s advice and negotiate with a quiet voice, but carrying a big stick?”
Leader of the House of Lords Lord True responded that it is “for the memoir writers” to decide whether the big stick - here meaning the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill - played its part.
Parents of truanting children could have benefit stopped, says Michael Gove
Parents who fail to ensure their children attend school regularly could have their child benefit payments stopped, cabinet minister Michael Gove has suggested.
The levelling up secretary said the radical benefits idea was originally considered by the coalition government under David Cameron but was blocked by the Liberal Democrats.
Speaking at the Onward think tank, Mr Gove suggested that it could now be re-considered as part of a drive to restore “an ethic of responsibility”.
Our political correspondent Adam Forrest has more:
Parents of truanting children could have benefit stopped, says Michael Gove
Cabinet minister also attacks woke politics and ‘pirate society’
Windsor framework should have been signed four years ago under ‘serious’ PM, says Naomi Long
Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said the Windsor Framework was the deal that should have been signed four years ago, had the UK had a “serious” prime minister at the time.
Following a meeting with Rishi Sunak in Co Antrim, she said: “In terms of trading arrangements between the UK and particularly Northern Ireland and the EU, we recognise this is a major step forward.
“This is the deal we could have had in 2019 if we had a serious prime minister who was willing to engage respectfully with the EU.
“I suppose my one disappointment today is that we have had to wait for four years to have that circumstance.
“It does show when you engage in good faith you can make good progress.
“We do have concerns with respect to how the Stormont brake will operate.
“It remains unclear in terms of how it will function, at what level the trigger will be set.
“The one thing we do not want to do is to inject more instability into the institutions at Stormont.”
Boris Johnson told to ‘put up or shut up’ and back Sunak’s Brexit deal
Boris Johnson has been urged to “put up or shut up” over Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as the former prime minister considers whether to rebel on the issue.
The source close to the former prime minister did not deny a report that Mr Johnson had asked the DUP to without support until they had carefully studied at the agreement.
Most Tory MPs have reacted enthusiastically to the Windsor Framework, but Mr Johnson’s allies in the DUP and hardliners in the European Research Group (ERG) are “taking their time” to consider whether they can back it.
Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Boris Johnson told to ‘put up or shut up’ and back Sunak’s Brexit deal
Rishi Sunak urged to suspend ex-PM if he opposes Windsor agreement with EU
No 10 denies Sunak seeking single market access
Downing Street has been forced to stress that Rishi Sunak’s hailing of Northern Ireland’s access to both EU and British markets should not be seen as an endorsement of single market benefits for the whole of the UK.
During a visit to a Coca-Cola factory in County Antrim to promote his Windsor Framework, the prime minister said the deal would create “the world’s most exciting economic zone”.
Pressed on the issue later, the prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “The British people made a decision in 2016 and we are seeing the benefits of that decision, whether that’s in the ability to change our environment laws, some of the tax elements the Prime Minister talked about just today, in fact.
“With regards to Northern Ireland, it is simply a fact that because of our respect for the Good Friday Agreement and the central importance: Northern Ireland’s unique position means it needs to have access to both markets, not least to avoid a border on the island of Ireland, which nobody wants to see.
“That puts it in a unique position and what the framework does is finally cement those capabilities.”
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