Thursday, February 04, 2021
Johnson's Northern Ireland blunder
The EU'a faux pas over vaccines has brought home to the UK Government the previously unacknowledged contradictions in the Brexit deal, previously heralded as giving the UK full trading independence.
The Independent reports that the prime minister on Wednesday threatened to invoke the protocol's Article 16 exit clause if it was the only way to ensure free flowing trade between the province and Great Britain:
The prime minister's Brexit deal has already led to significant disruption between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, including shortages of some goods.
In the House of Commons, DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr confronted the PM with his previous promise that businesses could throw any demands for paperwork on exports between Britain and Northern Ireland “in the bin”.
Mr Paisley said the people of Northern Ireland felt “betrayed” by the outcome of the Brexit deal and told Mr Johnson: “Prime minister, be the unionist we need you to be.”
“The protocol has betrayed us and has made us feel like foreigners in our own country,” said Mr Paisley. “Tea and sympathy will not cut the mustard. What is the prime minister actually going to do?”
Mr Johnson responded that he was willing to override parts of the Northern Ireland protocol if necessary.
“We will do everything we need to do, whether legislatively or indeed by triggering Article 16 of the protocol, to ensure that there is no barrier down the Irish Sea,” he said.
The paper adds that haulage firms have hiked prices by 12 per cent this week and hospitals, schools and prisons have warned of looming problems obtaining food supplies. But the situation is expected to get worse when the grace periods on supermarkets’ paperwork and processed foods end, in April and July respectively.
This is obviously of concern to the government, but this is the same deal they negotiated and promoted as the best thing since sliced bread, including the border in the Irish Sea. Isn't it time they owned it.
The Independent reports that the prime minister on Wednesday threatened to invoke the protocol's Article 16 exit clause if it was the only way to ensure free flowing trade between the province and Great Britain:
The prime minister's Brexit deal has already led to significant disruption between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, including shortages of some goods.
In the House of Commons, DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr confronted the PM with his previous promise that businesses could throw any demands for paperwork on exports between Britain and Northern Ireland “in the bin”.
Mr Paisley said the people of Northern Ireland felt “betrayed” by the outcome of the Brexit deal and told Mr Johnson: “Prime minister, be the unionist we need you to be.”
“The protocol has betrayed us and has made us feel like foreigners in our own country,” said Mr Paisley. “Tea and sympathy will not cut the mustard. What is the prime minister actually going to do?”
Mr Johnson responded that he was willing to override parts of the Northern Ireland protocol if necessary.
“We will do everything we need to do, whether legislatively or indeed by triggering Article 16 of the protocol, to ensure that there is no barrier down the Irish Sea,” he said.
The paper adds that haulage firms have hiked prices by 12 per cent this week and hospitals, schools and prisons have warned of looming problems obtaining food supplies. But the situation is expected to get worse when the grace periods on supermarkets’ paperwork and processed foods end, in April and July respectively.
This is obviously of concern to the government, but this is the same deal they negotiated and promoted as the best thing since sliced bread, including the border in the Irish Sea. Isn't it time they owned it.
