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By Matt Rodda
In 2019 the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and the Conservatives, offered the country an “oven ready” Brexit deal which he lauded as being the best possible deal with the EU to maintain trade, ensure stability and – with the inclusion of the Northern Ireland protocol that the Prime Minister himself negotiated – prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland and safeguard the Good Friday agreement.
He promised no checks in the Irish Sea. Sunak, like all the Tories, backed the deal.
Fast forward to February 2022 and the picture painted by Boris Johnson was very different to the reality on the ground.
Trade across the Irish Sea faced new barriers.
Businesses were reporting huge new burdens and vehicle checks had brought the roads in Kent to a complete stand still.
The EU and the UK were facing a legal stand-off with the UK threatening to unilaterally tear up legally binding international treaty. Trust and goodwill with the EU had been squandered.
But it was in Northern Ireland where the hubris of Boris Johnson and the Conservatives’ deal was having the biggest impact.
Unable to import chilled meats, plants, or seed potatoes and concerned about a customs border in the Irish Sea, the DUP – Northern Ireland’s largest Unionist Party and, at the time, the party who held the role of First Minister – walked away from the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and collapsed the Northern Ireland assembly.
And the Conservatives were busy telling anyone who listened that the very protocol they negotiated was terrible and needed to be ripped up.
Today, the Assembly is still not functioning and, in the May 2022 Assembly elections, the DUP were replaced as the largest party by Sinn Fein, who advocate a united Ireland.
Everyone in Westminster agreed that the status quo could not continue.
The Labour Party urged the Government to work collegiately with all parties in Northern Ireland and in Westminster to find a lasting solution that protected peace and reduced trade friction.
And we urged the EU to be more flexible.
We desperately wanted to see the Northern Ireland assembly up and running and for the people of Northern Ireland to have access to the essentials they need.
That’s why we have welcomed this new agreement on the Protocol dubbed the ‘Windsor Framework’, which is long overdue and fixes some of the trade problems in their original deal. The government has let this drag on for two years causing yet more uncertainty for business. We have repeatedly urged them to reach a negotiated settlement. The outline of a deal had been clear for months.
We’re glad the PM has finally shown he is willing to confront those in his own party who were holding a deal hostage.
When it comes to the House of Commons for decision, I will be voting for it along with my fellow Labour MPs because, as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, stability in Northern Ireland is key.
If the PM needs our support in getting this over the line he will have it.
10 years after David Cameron announced we would be having a referendum on our membership of the EU, we need to start looking forward to our new place in the world.
A new era of relations with Europe without the rancour caused by successive Conservative Prime Ministers can only be a good thing for our country and our economy.
The challenge now is for those Conservative MPs who want to continue the Brexit debate to ask themselves whose interests they are trying to serve.
By attempting to sink ‘The Windsor Framework’ we can be sure it is neither Northern Ireland’s or the United Kingdom’s.
Matt Rodda is the MP for Reading East
