Brexit Breakthrough Sparks Return Of Stormont Power Share

Following reports of a possible breakthrough in the Brexit stalemate, hopes are high for a return to power-sharing in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Centre for Brexit Policy has suggested a ‘mutual enforcement’ policy which is hoped could see an end to the standoff in Stormont, according to The Daily Express, Saturday, June 24.

New proposals have been made which could open the way up for the DUP to return to the power-sharing arrangement with Sinn Fein. It is believed that the new report, due to be revealed on Tuesday next week, has the approval of senior DUP officials

The stumbling block came about when the DUP aired its concerns about post-Brexit trading arrangements. Owing to an unsatisfactory outcome, the party decided to suspend its role in the shared power arrangement with Sinn Fein in the Stormont Assembly.

The DUP argued that the measures put in place to avoid the need for custom checks with the Republic of Ireland have had a negative effect on Northern Ireland’s place as part of the United Kingdom.

The new idea of ‘mutual enforcement,’ would place the EU and the UK under a legal obligation to ‘enforce the rules of the other with respect to trade across the border.’

In a plan that would benefit all parties, this would remove the need for checks on goods travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, thus avoiding a hard border between the north and south of the island while protecting the EU’s single market.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the DUP expressed his optimism: ‘The DUP wants to see Stormont back up and running again as soon as possible and on a sound and stable foundation. The stakes are extremely high and this necessitates a willingness on all sides to engage constructively with proposals that could help end the logjam and protect our place in the Internal Market of the United Kingdom.’

Critics of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s earlier Windsor Framework, believe that it has been widely accepted as a failure, since it appears to give precedence to EU law, which they say ‘remains supreme’ in the province.

The DUP are eager to return to Stormont amid the popularity of Sinn Fein, which is now the largest party both in Stormont and local government.