Brexit critics team up to oppose Sunak’s N. Ireland deal

Opponents of Rishi Sunak’s planned Brexit deal are ready to join forces against the prime minister’s proposals, as he attempts to convince his own party to back plans to end a long-running trade dispute with the European Union.

A hard-line grouping of pro-Brexit Tory MPs, known as the European Research Group, is set to meet later Tuesday with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which has long objected to the EU retaining a role in the region. 

Earlier, Sunak hosted a Cabinet meeting and then met with Conservative backbenchers in a push to resolve the standoff over Northern Ireland, one of the biggest political issues of his premiership.

Sunak told his cabinet that “intensive negotiations with the EU continue on resolving the issues” caused by the existing agreement, according to an emailed readout.

After long negotiations with the EU, Sunak hasn’t yet shown MPs the final text of any deal, and was instead trying to win around skeptical MPs and prevent the DUP from rejecting his plan outright.

The proposed solution centers around “green” and “red” customs lanes for goods flowing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and Europe respectively, which would end onerous checks and paperwork on goods traveling within the UK.

However, the role of the European Court of Justice remains a key concern for pro-unionist politicians in Belfast and London. The DUP and pro-Brexit MPs are also worried that EU regulations would continue to apply in Northern Ireland.

Even as Sunak wrangles with his own party in London, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly spoke with European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic on Tuesday — the pair’s third conversation in five days. They will speak again in the coming days.

Old Wounds

Sunak is trying to draw a line under a dispute with the EU that has poisoned relations since Britain left the bloc three years ago, amid complaints that the existing Brexit deal hampers trade between the region and Great Britain. The issue is reviving arguments that fatally undermined former Prime Minister Theresa May.

One pro-Brexit Conservative backbencher told Bloomberg they were concerned with the outline of a potential deal shared with them by Downing Street. They will only make a final decision once a final text is available, they said, but needed further reassurances over a consent mechanism in respect of the role of the ECJ in Northern Ireland. The government should not proceed without the support of the DUP, they added. 

Former Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg echoed those concerns on a Conservative Home podcast Tuesday, adding: “I don’t know why so much political capital has been spent on something without getting the DUP and the ERG onside first.” 

Tory MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said skeptics should not derail any deal. “If we don’t accept this deal we will retain the status quo and not allow the veil to be lifted on the bright future Northern Ireland has ahead of it,” he said in an interview.

The ERG is not the political force it was at the height of the Brexit wars in Parliament in 2019, with some members now in government and its organizing power diminished, according to people familiar with the government’s thinking. While it may not prove decisive in any future vote in the House of Commons, it would be politically awkward for Sunak to rely on the opposition Labour Party.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar suggested no solution was imminent. At a Dublin briefing with reporters, Varadkar said he “can’t say whether or not we’ll have a protocol agreement this week,” but that a “huge amount of progress has been made.”

Wooing Unionists 

Sunak is also trying to persuade the DUP to back his approach in a bid to end its opposition to forming a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, which has been suspending for more than a year.

Sunak’s spokesman Max Blain told reporters in London on Tuesday talks with the EU still include “unresolved issues,” and that the government would continue to engage with parties in Northern Ireland. 

A person familiar with the government’s strategy suggested not all of the DUP needed to be brought onside for the premier to press ahead with his plans. 

Downing Street was cheered by DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson’s cautious optimism at the end of last week, even if other members of the unionist party such as Sammy Wilson have since spoken out broadly against the prospect of a deal.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also a factor. A person close to Johnson said at the weekend that he opposes any move to drop legislation allowing ministers to unilaterally rewrite much of the protocol. That’s a view taken up in recent days by several pro-Brexit MPs.