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The Northern Ireland Assembly will vote today on the continuation of post-Brexit trading arrangements. The democratic consent motion was first agreed in the 2020 Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU and ensures local politicians have a say in the new trading rules. The Windsor Framework was agreed upon in 2023 and effectively places Northern Ireland inside the EU’s single market for goods. The vote will determine if the arrangements will operate for another four years.
The motion was tabled by Sinn Féin, Alliance, and the SDLP. However, unlike other Stormont votes, cross-community support is not needed for the motion, but a simple majority will be sufficient. The DUP and other unionist parties are against the vote, arguing it creates a democratic deficit because the concerns of unionists, who are in the minority at Stormont, can be ignored. If the vote passes without cross-community support, an independent review of the post-Brexit arrangements and their implications will be ordered.
Alliance leader, Naomi Long, confirmed her party would vote in favour of retaining the framework. She cited that the Windsor Framework remains the only viable option, especially for those navigating the chaotic effects of Brexit. Matthew O’Toole, Leader of the Opposition, the SDLP, expressed that the Assembly should view the debate as an opportunity to discuss the potential for Northern Ireland’s future relationship with Europe. He stated that Northern Ireland has a unique relationship with the EU, not just because of the protocol but also because Northern Ireland citizens have EU citizenship.
The DUP’s Sammy Wilson called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to pressure the EU to remove trade barriers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland while stating that his Assembly colleagues would vote against the continuation of the arrangements. Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson’s legal action against the Stormont vote was dismissed by the High Court. He claimed Secretary of State Hilary Benn had acted unlawfully, but the challenge was declared untenable.
In 2023 the Northern Ireland Protocol became the Windsor Framework. Goods trade across the border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU country, remains undisturbed by Brexit. Nonetheless, goods arriving from elsewhere in the UK are subject to checks, resulting in the Irish Sea border. For the EU, the new framework left the basic architecture of 2019’s protocol intact, creating a trade border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland to prevent a hard land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
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