Brexit: Rishi Sunak says Northern Ireland in ‘unbelievably special position’ because of access to EU single market

Published

2 years ago

February 28, 2023

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Rishi Sunak has said his new post-Brexit deal puts Northern Ireland in an “unbelievably special position” because it gives it access to both the UK and European Union markets.

The prime minister said implementing the newly negotiated Windsor Framework would create “the world’s most exciting economic zone” with international companies “queuing up to invest” in the region.

“If we get this right, if we get this framework implemented, if we get the Executive back up and running here, Northern Ireland is in the unbelievably special position – unique position in the entire world, European continent – in having privileged access, not just to the UK home market, which is enormous… but also the European Union single market,” he said on a visit to Lisburn’s Coca-Cola factory.

Politics live: Sunak ‘over the moon’ with deal as he tours Northern Ireland to get DUP onside

“Nobody else has that. No one. Only you guys: only here, and that is the prize.”

The comments depart from the government’s previous position of avoiding any overt recognition of the benefits of a closer trading partnership with the EU.

The whole of the UK had access to the single market before Brexit, which Mr Sunak voted for.

Critics were quick to point this out, with Naomi Long, the leader of Belfast’s Alliance party, tweeting: “Nobody else has that.” Well, you did, actually. Plus, the opt outs. But you binned it for Brexit. Go figure…”

In his pitch to workers about the benefits of his deal, the prime minister added: “I can tell you, when I go around the world and talk to businesses, they know that – they’re like: ‘That’s interesting. If you guys get this sorted, then we want to invest in Northern Ireland, because nowhere else does that exist.’

“That’s like the world’s most exciting economic zone.”

He said the government aims to work with international companies to help them “take advantage of Northern Ireland’s very special position”.

“And they are queuing up to do so, particularly from the US actually.”

Government has changed its tune about benefits of closer EU trading ties

Amanda Akass

Politics and business correspondent

@amandaakass

A striking moment from the Q&A was Rishi Sunak’s enthusiastic celebration of Northern Ireland having access to both UK markets and the EU, which he described as “an unbelievably special position”.

This is a significant departure from the government’s previous position – any overt recognition of the benefits of a closer trading partnership with the EU has always been anathema to Brexiteers and steadfastly avoided.

While many business leaders in Northern Ireland previously supported the Northern Ireland Protocol because of the dual access they enjoyed as a result, with the de facto border in the Irish Sea so unpalatable to unionists leaders in Westminster have not wanted to dwell on the benefits of a closer relationship with the EU.

But today Mr Sunak has been waxing lyrical about the “prize” enjoyed by Northern Ireland under the framework and “the world’s most exciting economic zone”.

And the PM is holding out the prospect of huge economic investment to businesses there as a result, promising that the government will help companies take advantage of this situation.

He claims organisations in the US are “queueing up” to get involved. This argument is much more of a carrot than a stick approach – a mark of the PM’s confidence (unsurprisingly for a former chancellor) in the importance of economic incentives.

PM ‘not endorsing single market’

Speaking after the visit, Downing Street stressed the comments should not be seen as the prime minister endorsing EU single market benefits for the whole of the UK.

The PM’s spokesman said the British people made their decision in 2016 in the Brexit referendum but Northern Ireland needed access to both markets because of its unique situation.

“With regards to Northern Ireland, it is simply a fact that because of our respect for the Good Friday Agreement and the central importance; Northern Ireland’s unique position means it needs to have access to both markets, not least to avoid a border on the island of Ireland, which nobody wants to see.

“That puts it in a unique position and what the framework does is finally cement those capabilities.”

Boris Johnson’s “oven ready” Brexit deal took the UK out of the single market but kept Northern Ireland closely aligned to it in order to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

However, this effectively placed a customs border in the Irish Sea, with extra checks required on goods crossing from Great Britain into Northern Ireland – something the former PM promised would not happen.

Mr Sunak has spent months trying to negotiate new terms to replace the contentious Northern Ireland protocol and on Monday made a “historic breakthrough” as he signed a new deal with the EU on the post-Brexit trading arrangements.

The Windsor Framework has eased checks on goods from the UK while maintaining free flowing trade on the island of Ireland.

The agreement does mean Northern Ireland must continue following Brussels’ trade rules, but the PM has negotiated a ‘Stormont brake’ which allows the devolved government to block any EU law changes from coming into force in the region.

Mr Sunak said he believed “hand on heart” that it addressed the concerns expressed about the current set up, which triggered the collapse of power-sharing in Stormont.

Northern Ireland has been without an Executive Assembly since early last year, when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) pulled out of Stormont in protest at the Protocol.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said “there remain key issues of concern” regarding the new deal despite “significant progress” made.

However he insisted his party would be “reasonable” as it spends the next few days studying the framework.

The PM is also facing the challenge of winning over Tory Eurosceptics and his predecessor Mr Johnson, who is yet to give a verdict on the Windsor Framework.

Mr Sunak indicated he had discussed the deal with Mr Johnson, telling the BBC earlier on Tuesday “of course I speak to the former prime minister”.

Tory Brexiteers in the European Research Group (ERG) are to meet later today and will convene MP Sir Bill Cash’s so-called “star chamber” of lawyers to scrutinise the deal before deciding whether to back it.

World

What’s it like with the National Guard on the streets of DC?

Published

12 hours ago

August 22, 2025

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What's it like with the National Guard on the streets of DC?

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

What’s it like on the streets of DC right now, as thousands of federal police patrol the streets?

Who is Steve Witkoff, the US envoy regularly meeting Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu to broker peace in Ukraine and Gaza?

And why is Californian Governor Gavin Newsom now tweeting like Donald Trump?

Martha Kelner and Mark Stone answer your questions.

If you’ve also got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

World

It’s been a confusing week – and Trump’s been made to look weak

Published

12 hours ago

August 22, 2025

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It’s been a confusing week.

The Monday gathering of European leaders and Ukraine’s president with Donald Trump at the White House was highly significant.

Ukraine latest: Trump changes tack

The leaders went home buoyed by the knowledge that they’d finally convinced the American president not to abandon Europe. He had committed to provide American “security guarantees” to Ukraine.

The details were sketchy, and sketched out only a little more through the week (we got some noise about American air cover), but regardless, the presidential commitment represented a clear shift from months of isolationist rhetoric on Ukraine – “it’s Europe’s problem” and all the rest of it.

Yet it was always the case that, beyond that clear achievement for the Europeans, Russia would have a problem with it.

Trump’s envoy’s language last weekend – claiming that Putin had agreed to Europe providing “Article 5-like” guarantees for Ukraine, essentially providing it with a NATO-like collective security blanket – was baffling.

Russia gives two fingers to the president

And throughout this week, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has repeatedly and predictably undermined the whole thing, pointing out that Russia would never accept any peace plan that involved any European or NATO troops in Ukraine.

“The presence of foreign troops in Ukraine is completely unacceptable for Russia,” he said yesterday, echoing similar statements stretching back years.

Remember that NATO’s “eastern encroachment” was the justification for Russia’s “special military operation” – the invasion of Ukraine – in the first place. All this makes Trump look rather weak.

It’s two fingers to the president, though interestingly, the Russian language has been carefully calibrated not to poke Trump but to mock European leaders instead. That’s telling.

The bilateral meeting (between Putin and Zelenskyy) hailed by Trump on Monday as agreed and close – “within two weeks” – looks decidedly doubtful.

Maybe that’s why he went along with Putin’s suggestion that there be a bilateral, not including Trump, first.

It’s easier for the American president to blame someone else if it’s not his meeting, and it doesn’t happen.

NATO defence chiefs met on Wednesday to discuss the details of how the security guarantees – the ones Russia won’t accept – will work.

European sources at the meeting have told me it was all a great success. And to the comments by Lavrov, a source said: “It’s not up to Lavrov to decide on security guarantees. Not up to the one doing the threatening to decide how to deter that threat!”

The argument goes that it’s not realistic for Russia to say from which countries Ukraine can and cannot host troops.

Would Trump threaten force?

The problem is that if Europe and the White House want Russia to sign up to some sort of peace deal, then it would require agreement from all sides on the security arrangements.

The other way to get Russia to heel would be with an overwhelming threat of force. Something from Trump, like: “Vladimir – look what I did to Iran…”. But, of course, Iran isn’t a nuclear power.

Something else bothers me about all this. The core concept of a “security guarantee” is an ironclad obligation to defend Ukraine into the future.

Future guarantees would require treaties, not just a loose promise. I don’t see Trump’s America truly signing up to anything that obliges them to do anything.

A layered security guarantee which builds over time is an option, but from a Kremlin perspective, would probably only end up being a repeat of history and allow them another “justification” to push back.

Image and reality don’t seem to match

Among Trump’s stream of social media posts this week was an image of him waving his finger at Putin in Alaska. It was one of the few non-effusive images from the summit.

He posted it next to an image of former president Richard Nixon confronting Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev – an image that came to reflect American dominance over the Soviet Union.

That may be the image Trump wants to portray. But the events of the past week suggest image and reality just don’t match.

The past 24 hours in Ukraine have been among the most violent to date.

World

At least 17 dead in Colombia after car bombing and helicopter attack

Published

12 hours ago

August 22, 2025

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At least 17 dead in Colombia after car bombing and helicopter attack

At least 17 people were killed after a car bombing and an attack on a police helicopter in Colombia, officials have said.

Authorities in the southwest city of Cali said a vehicle loaded with explosives detonated near a military aviation school, killing five people and injuring more than 30.

Authorities said at least 12 died in the attack on a helicopter transporting personnel to an area in Antioquia in northern Colombia, where they were to destroy coca leaf crops – the raw material used in the production of cocaine.

Antioquia governor Andres Julian said a drone attacked the helicopter as it flew over coca leaf crops.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro attributed both incidents to dissidents of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

He said the aircraft was targeted in retaliation for a cocaine seizure that allegedly belonged to the Gulf Clan.

Who are FARC, and are they still active?

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a Marxist guerrilla organisation, was the largest of the country’s rebel groups, and grew out of peasant self-defence forces.

It was formed in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, carrying out a series of attacks against political and economic targets.

In 2016, after more than 50 years of civil war, FARC rebels and the Colombian government signed a peace deal.

It officially ceased to be an armed group the following year – but some small dissident groups rejected the agreement and refused to disarm.

According to a report by Colombia’s Truth Commission in 2022, fighting between government forces, FARC, and the militant group National Liberation Army had killed around 450,000 people between 1985 and 2018.

Both FARC dissidents and members of the Gulf Clan operate in Antioquia.

It comes as a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that coca leaf cultivation is on the rise in Colombia.

The area under cultivation reached a record 253,000 hectares in 2023, according to the UN’s latest available report.