Plans to ditch parts of NI protocol clear House of Commons hurdle
Last updated 28th Jun 2022
Legislation that would effectively tear up chunks of the Northern Ireland Protocol has cleared its first Commons hurdle.
MPs voted 295 to 221 to give the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill a second reading, which clears the way for it to undergo detailed scrutiny in the coming weeks.
The DUP has been clear that it will not reenter power sharing until "decisive action" around the Protocol has been taken, while others including several high profile Tories, have warned that the bill is illegal as it breaches international law.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told the Commons: "The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill seeks to finally and fundamentally reset and restore Northern Ireland's relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom, given the devastating impact of the protocol on the economic, constitutional, social and political life of Northern Ireland over the last 18 months."
The MP for Lagan Valley highlighted limits on goods reaching Northern Ireland and criticised a situation which has left MLAs presiding over regulations "over which they have no say".
He went on: "No democratic input into how those regulations are put in place and they regulate how we trade with the rest of our own country.
"How can anyone in this House defend a situation where part of this United Kingdom is treated in a way where its elected representatives have no say in many of the laws that regulate our trade with the rest of the United Kingdom?"
221 against
Nationalist parties, the EU, the Irish Government and the Labour Party were among those voting against the bill.
SDLP MP Claire Hanna instead called for a "negotiated solution" with the EU as she told MPs "we have solved bigger problems than these before".
The MP for Belfast South insisted "there's no doubt that the protocol can be smooth" and "the operation can be improved", adding: "Everybody says that.
"Nobody, as I've said before, in Northern Ireland loves the protocol, but we know that the better options were voted down, but like everything that's worth doing in Northern Ireland that will be achieved through partnership, through compromises, and not through unmeetable red lines that would remove the people of Northern Ireland from the single market, which is something that has no support.
"But instead of doing the hard work and levelling with the people of Northern Ireland, this Government, to whom the DUP have shackled themselves, are choosing to distort and deflect."
Ms Hanna concluded: "I don't believe, having spent the last six years of my life having the same argument, I don't believe the party opposite have it in them to put the people and the businesses and the economy of the people of Northern Ireland first.
"But I would implore some of my colleagues on these benches to please unshackle yourselves, work with us, work with your neighbours, and your colleagues, and your friends to arrive at the solutions, the negotiated solutions that we all know are possible. We have solved bigger problems than these before."
Conservatives rebel
Some of the Prime Minister's own party colleagues have spoken out against the Bill.
Conservative former prime minister Theresa May told MPs: "I do not welcome this Bill."
She said: "I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate on this Bill, although I have to say to the lone minister sitting on the frontbench that I do not welcome this Bill.
"I fully understand and indeed share the Government's desire to uphold the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. I understand and share the desire to keep the Union of the UK.
"I recognise the frustration and difficulty when the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive are not in place and operating, and I also share the Government's desire to get that Assembly and Executive back operating for the good of the people of Northern Ireland, but I do not believe that this Bill is the way to achieve those aims."
Tory former Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith told the Commons that businesses were engaging "in good faith" with the protocol and looking at ways to improve the deal.
He added: "Their view is that the need for stability and balance can only be achieved through a negotiated settlement and that they want to preserve the opportunities of the protocol.
"They also want to protect the strong position of the Northern Ireland economy, which has now been shown in multiple reports to be performing amongst the best in the country."
He added: "I fear that this Bill is a kind of displacement activity from the core task of doing whatever we can to negotiate a better protocol deal for Northern Ireland.
"I also fear that it risks creating an impression to unionism that a black-and-white solution is available, when the reality is once this Bill has been dragged through the Lords, and courts, and EU responses and reprisals, compromise will ultimately be needed."
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
Jointly agreed by the UK and EU, it is the part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement that deals with the main obstacle in the divorce talks - the Irish land border.
To keep the border free flowing, London and Brussels essentially moved new regulatory and customs checks required by Brexit to the Irish Sea.
That has introduced red tape on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, creating new headaches for many businesses and enraging loyalists and unionists who claim the region's place in the UK has been undermined.
Politics at Stormont has been thrown into turmoil, with the DUP blocking the formation of a new power-sharing executive, following last month's Assembly election, in protest.
There have been sporadic outbreaks of violence linked to the protocol since its introduction in January 2021, but they have not been widespread or sustained.
What is it to do with the Good Friday Agreement (GFA)?
The debate over the protocol has increasingly been framed by competing interpretations of Northern Ireland's historic 1998 peace accord.
The agreement contains provisions to protect and develop relations both on a north/south basis on the island of Ireland and on an east/west basis between the island and Great Britain.
Those who campaigned against Brexit claimed it would undermine the peace deal by disrupting that north/south dynamic.
The protocol, from their point of view, has helped to uphold the 1998 accord, and any threat to the arrangements would also represent a threat to the GFA.
This argument is employed by the anti-Brexit parties in NI, the Irish Government, the EU and the US administration.
For unionists in Northern Ireland, it is the protocol itself that poses the threat to the GFA.
For them, it not only undermines the east/west relationship but also strikes at another fundamental tenet of the deal - that Northern Ireland's constitutional status cannot be changed without the consent of its people.
Unionists claim the new trade border has effectively changed the constitutional status of NI and, in so doing, undermined that consent principle.
What about the Government's position?
Having initially hailed the protocol as the breakthrough that "got Brexit done", and then portrayed early disruption as "teething problems", the Prime Minister began to change his public stance on the protocol soon after it became operational.
He now claims it has upset the GFA's "delicate balance" of unionist and nationalist aspirations by undermining the east/west dynamic.
Mr Johnson says the arrangements need to be fixed, not scrapped, maintaining that the Government's preferred outcome is a negotiated settlement with the EU.
The Prime Minister, as well as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, have stressed that their priority with the legislation is the restoration of power-sharing.
Protracted negotiations between the UK and European Commission have been rumbling on for well over a year without sign of resolution, with both sides having tabled proposals which the other has rejected.
The proposals, which MPs will vote on, is something of a solo run and lacks buy-in from Labour, non-unionist parties in Northern Ireland and European leaders.
Mr Johnson, who has previously described this tactic as an insurance policy that will only be used if Brussels fails to change position, has signalled that the plan could potentially be in operation by the end of the year.
What's in this bill?
The creation of green and red channels would differentiate between GB goods destined for use in Northern Ireland and shipments bound for onward transportation across the Irish border.
Goods arriving through the green channel would be freed of red tape, while the red channel would retain the checks and inspections required by the protocol.
The introduction of a dual regulatory system would allow businesses selling in Northern Ireland to choose whether they comply with EU standards, UK standards or both.
Changing rules on state subsidies and VAT and excise duties would ensure Northern Ireland is not excluded from UK-wide policy decisions in these areas as a result of EU laws.
Reform of the protocol governance arrangements would remove the European Court of Justice as the final arbitrator in any future trade disputes over the protocol.
Are the proposals legal?
The Government's critics claim the unilateral move to breach the Brexit treaty by way of domestic legislation is a clear violation of international law.
Insisting it is acting within the law, the Government has cited a "doctrine of necessity" that allows obligations in international treaties to be set aside under "certain, very exceptional, limited conditions".
This has not stopped widespread criticism of the move, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer pledging that his party would scrap the legislation if it was in power.
Read More:
NI Protocol: What is the protocol bill and why is it significant?
NI Protocol: second reading of Bill to change legislation will take place today