MPs will debate a motion next week on the so-called “Stormont brake” – a key part of the new Brexit deal agreed between the UK and EU attempting to solve issues in Northern Ireland.
Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt confirmed the move in the Commons, saying the debate on one of the main elements of the Windsor Framework would take place on Wednesday and the detail of the legislation would be published on Monday.
The Windsor agreement was announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen at the end of last month in the hope of solving ongoing problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol – the post-Brexit arrangement designed to prevent a hard border being reintroduced on the island of Ireland.
While both sides signed up to the initial deal, it led to trade barriers being created between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refused to form an executive at Stormont until the protocol was scrapped.
It is still not clear if the DUP will accept the replacement, as it has concerns about Northern Ireland still having to follow some EU good laws – something the party believes threatens their place within the UK’s internal market and damages their sovereignty.
But the government is hoping the Stormont brake – allowing them to block any changes to or newly created EU goods laws – will provide enough reassurance.
