After nearly two years, it looks like power-sharing will shortly be restored at Stormont. This afternoon MPs will pass two statutory instruments (SI) which will pave the way for the restoration of the executive in Belfast. The Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Minister Steve Baker will lead two 90-minute debates on changes to the Windsor Framework for goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The subject of Northern Ireland’s future featured little in the EU referendum campaign but has since proved to be arguably the thorniest Brexit-related issue in subsequent years. Today though, we can expect little of the sound and fury which has characterised much of the debate since 2016. Given that both the Labour party and a majority of Tories back them, the SIs should pass easily, even if the eight DUP MPs abstain or oppose.
The European Research Group (ERG) of Tory Brexiteers held a meeting to discuss the changes yesterday afternoon. There is no sign of them attempting to muster a mass vote of protest against the changes, with Jacob Rees-Mogg telling journalists afterwards that ‘the government has done well.’ Priti Patel is said to have voiced concerns but even Sir Bill Cash reportedly will walk through the government division lobbies today in the event of a vote being held. One MP points to the one-line whip today as a sign of the confidence in the Tory whips’ office at the SIs passing without fuss: ‘Not often they have been able to do that since 2016.’
There is some bitterness though on the DUP side, with Sammy Wilson attacking this ‘spineless, weak-kneed, Brexit-betraying government’ in the House yesterday. But even he has since indicated he accepts his party’s decision. Speaking last night, leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said that ‘I won’t claim every battle has been won or that every battle has been finished. But I do believe that what we have achieved gives us an opportunity to bank the progress that we have made, the gains and changes… and to continue making the case for further change.’
The question for the DUP is, with a Sinn Féin minister set to be installed at Stormont, will that ‘further change’ help or hurt the cause of unionism in Northern Ireland?
Comments