Sunak must stand up to ‘Brexit purity cult’ of Eurosceptic MPs to strike deal on Northern Ireland Protocol, Starmer to say
Rishi Sunak must stand up to the “Brexit purity cult” of Eurosceptics on the Tory benches to find a solution to the Northern Ireland Protocol deadlock, Sir Keir Starmer will say.
The Labour leader will use a speech in Belfast to urge the prime minister to take on the European Research Group (ERG) in order to resolve the issues over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Sir Keir will say he will offer “political cover” at Westminster if Mr Sunak can deliver an agreement with the European Union which is in the national interest.
“The time for action on the protocol is now. The time to stand up to the ERG is now,” Sir Keir will say on Friday.
“The time to put Northern Ireland above a Brexit purity cult, which can never be satisfied – is now.”
The protocol has overshadowed politics in Northern Ireland since it was agreed by then-prime minister Boris Johnson as part of the Brexit deal in a bid to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Members of the unionist community are unhappy with the difficulties it creates for trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refusing to co-operate with forming a devolved executive in Stormont until the issues are resolved.
After arriving in Belfast on Thursday, Sir Keir said there was a “small window of opportunity” to find a solution before the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April – seen by many as an unofficial deadline for an agreement and a potential visit from US President Joe Biden.
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Firms ‘unhappy’ with Brexit
“We’ve got to use the anniversary to fix minds, get the country and its political process moving forward again – deliver for the people of Northern Ireland,” he will say.
Any deal seen as conceding too much to Brussels could trigger a revolt on the Tory benches, but Sir Keir will offer Labour support to Mr Sunak.
“Whatever political cover you need, whatever mechanism in Westminster you require, if it delivers for our national interest and the people of Northern Ireland, we will support you,” he will say in the speech at Queen’s University.
Read More:
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol and why does it matter?
New Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says he is ‘willing to make compromises’ over Northern Ireland Protocol
The Labour leader will call on the PM to recognise the mistakes made by some Tory ministers who had viewed the Irish government as “adversaries” on Brexit.
“That has damaged the political process here in Northern Ireland – no question. And it’s certainly not the spirit of 1998.”
The UK government says the protocol is not working and wants to override it with new legislation if the EU does not agree to changes – a move Brussels has warned is “illegal and unrealistic”.
Earlier this week, a new data-sharing agreement between the UK and EU was hailed as a “new basis” for resolving the impasse – though the prime minister’s official spokesman stressed: “There are still significant issues at the heart of the protocol that need addressing.”
Labour has suggested a new veterinary agreement for trade in agricultural products between the UK and EU, which it claims would eliminate many of the checks, while a trusted trader scheme could also avoid some bureaucracy.
Sir Keir will also use the speech to hail the Good Friday Agreement – which brought peace to Northern Ireland – as “the greatest achievement of the Labour Party in my lifetime, without question”.
“But of course, the real achievements – the real pride – belongs to the people and communities here in Northern Ireland,” he will say.
It comes as Sir Keir’s own Brexit strategy appeared to be called into question by a Labour heavyweight.
Sir Keir Starmer with Sadiq Khan in June 2022. Pic: AP
London Mayor Sadiq Khan used a speech on Thursday night to condemn ministers’ silence on the “damage” Brexit has done to the economy, and to call for a “pragmatic discussion” about re-joining the single market.
Although the criticism is aimed at the Conservative government, it could also be seen as a veiled swipe at Sir Keir’s stance on Brexit.
Sir Keir, despite campaigning for Remain in the 2016 referendum, has recently taken a hardline position, ruling out bringing back free movement of people and arguing there is “no case” for rejoining the EU’s single market.
“Look, we have left the EU and there is no case for re-joining the EU or for going back into the single market,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“But what I do think we need to do is move beyond what I think is a pretty inadequate deal… and make Brexit work. And that is my priority.”
World
Putin wasn’t at the White House, but his influence was – the moments which reveal his hold over Trump
Vladimir Putin wasn’t at the White House but his influence clearly was. At times, it dominated the room.
There were three key moments that revealed the Russian president‘s current hold over Donald Trump.
The first was in the Oval Office. Sitting alongside Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the US president told reporters: “I don’t think you need a ceasefire.”
Ukraine talks latest: Zelenskyy ‘ready to meet’ Putin after Trump summit
Vladimir Putin shaking hands with Donald Trump when they met last week. Pic: Reuters
It was a stunning illustration of Mr Trump’s about-face in his approach to peace. For the past six months, a ceasefire has been his priority, but after meeting Mr Putin in Alaska, suddenly it’s not.
Confirmation that he now views the war through Moscow’s eyes.
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Trump applauds Putin and shares ride in ‘The Beast’ last week
The second was the format itself, with Mr Trump reverting to his favoured ask-what-you-like open-ended Q&A.
In Alaska, Mr Putin wasn’t made to take any questions – most likely, because he didn’t want to. But here, Mr Zelenskyy didn’t have a choice. He was subjected to a barrage of them to see if he’d learnt his lesson from last time.
It was a further demonstration of the special status Mr Trump seems to afford to Mr Putin.
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The third was their phone call. Initially, President Trump said he’d speak to the Kremlin leader after his meeting with European leaders. But it turned out to be during it.
A face-to-face meeting with seven leaders was interrupted for a phone call with one – as if Mr Trump had to check first with Mr Putin, before continuing his discussions.
We still don’t know the full details of the peace proposal that’s being drawn up, but all this strongly suggests that it’s one sketched out by Russia. The White House is providing the paper, but the Kremlin is holding the pen.
Read more:
Four key takeaways from the White House Ukraine summit
Trump has taken peace talks a distance not seen since the war began
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Trump, Zelenskyy and the suit: What happened?
For Moscow, the aim now is to keep Mr Trump on their path to peace, which is settlement first, ceasefire later.
It believes that’s the best way of securing its goals, because it has more leverage so long as the fighting continues.
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But Mr Putin will be wary that Mr Trump is pliable and can easily change his mind, depending on the last person he spoke to.
So to ensure that his sympathies aren’t swayed, and its red lines remain intact, Russia will be straining to keep its voice heard.
On Monday, for example, the Russian foreign ministry was quick to condemn recent comments from the UK government that it would be ready to send troops to help enforce any ceasefire.
It described the idea as “provocative” and “predatory”.
Moscow is trying to drown out European concerns by portraying itself as the party that wants peace the most, and Kyiv (and Europe) as the obstacle.
But while Mr Zelenskyy has agreed to a trilateral meeting, the Kremlin has not. After the phone call between Mr Putin and Mr Trump, it said the leaders discussed “raising the level of representatives” in the talks between Russia and Ukraine. No confirmation to what level.
World
Trump is playing both sides – but has taken peace talks a distance not seen since the war began
Talks between Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders have taken place at the White House, aimed at finding an end to the war in Ukraine.
On the agenda were US security guarantees, whether a ceasefire is required, and a potential summit between the Ukrainian president and Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy ready to meet Putin – follow latest
Here’s what three of our correspondents made of it all.
For Trump
For Mr Trump, the challenge to remain seen as the deal-broker is to maintain “forward momentum, through devilish detail,” Sky News’ US correspondent James Matthews says.
The US president called the Washington summit a “very good early step”, but that’s all it was, Matthews says.
Despite cordiality with Mr Zelenskyy and promising talk of a US role in security guarantees for Ukraine and discussions for meetings to come. Matthews says the obstacles remain.
“Trump has taken peace discussions to a distance not travelled since the start of the war, but it is a road navigated by a president playing both sides who have changed his mind on key priorities.”
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Zelenskyy, Trump and the suit
For Putin
As for Russia, Sky News’ Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett says the aim is to keep Trump on its preferred path towards peace – a deal first, a ceasefire later.
“Moscow believes that’s the best way of securing all of its goals,” Bennett says.
But Ukraine and Europe want things the other way round, and Moscow “will be wary that Trump can be easily persuaded by the last person he spoke to”.
And so, Russia will be “trying to keep themselves heard” and “cast Kyiv as the problem, as they won’t agree to a peace deal on the Kremlin’s terms”.
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What’s Putin’s next move? Sky’s Ivor Bennett explains
For the UK and Europe
Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates says, for Sir Keir Starmer and Europe, the biggest success of the Washington summit was the US promise of security guarantees for Ukraine.
He adds that the “hard work starts now to actually try to figure out what these guarantees amount to”.
Sir Keir said if Vladimir Putin breaches a future peace deal, there would have to be consequences, but Coates said potentially “insoluble” issues stand in the way.
“At what point do those breaches invoke a military response, whether US guarantees would be enough to encourage European involvement in Ukraine, and whether or not you could see the UK and Europe going to war with Russia to protect Ukraine?”
Coates says “there may never be an answer that satisfies everyone involved”.
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