Brexit: MPs to vote on Windsor Framework next week

MPs are set to get a vote on the new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland, known as the Windsor Framework.

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt confirmed that on Wednesday there will be a vote on the Stormont Brake, an element of the new arrangements.

The Stormont Brake aims to give the NI Assembly a greater say on how EU laws apply to Northern Ireland.

Government officials have told the BBC that the intention is this vote will also be a chance for MPs to have their say on the overall UK-EU agreement in principle.

Downing Street said the vote "honours the Prime Minister's commitment" to give MPs a say on the revised trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.

Actually implementing the framework will require further legislation over the coming weeks and months.

The Windsor Framework was signed to alter Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol.

It will mean goods moving from Great Britain which are staying in Northern Ireland would use a 'green lane' at Northern Ireland ports, meaning they should face minimal paperwork and no routine physical checks.

Goods which are due to travel into the Republic of Ireland would use a 'red lane', meaning they face customs processes and other checks.

It is not clear how the DUP will vote next week, as its leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said he is not yet sure if the deal will match his party's seven tests before returning to the executive at Stormont.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said the government remained "open to speaking to the DUP and answering any questions they may have".

Northern Ireland has been without a power-sharing government since its second largest party, the DUP, collapsed the Stormont executive over its opposition to the trade arrangements for Northern Ireland that resulted from the original Brexit deal between the UK and the EU.

Earlier, the US Senate leader said he hoped the new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland "clears the way" for the DUP to return to power sharing.

Chuck Schumer was speaking at a gala dinner in the US, attended by senior politicians from Northern Ireland.

He praised the "sometimes spluttering" progress made to achieve peace.

"I say to all parties in the north, but especially the DUP, let's get to the people's business," he said.

Stormont's five party leaders and high-profile Irish politicians were among several hundred guests at the dinner in Washington DC on Wednesday night.

They are in the US for a series of events ahead of St Patrick's Day.

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar used his speech to say he hoped the DUP would "take the path that leads towards the restoration" of devolved government at Stormont.

Asked whether he was feeling pressure to return to Stormont after the dinner, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said: "Not at all".

He added: "I think we have a very receptive audience here that understands the need to ensure there is proper balance and cross-community consensus is key to moving Northern Ireland forward," he said.

TUV leader Jim Allister said Mr Schumer's "attempts to interfere with politics" was, what he anticipates to be, "the first of many lectures" from US politicians.

"Unionist politicians would do well to remember that they answer to the voters in Northern Ireland, not New York," he added.

It was a night when Sir Jeffrey Donaldson felt the weight of Irish America on his shoulders.

Last year it was the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, who turned the heat up on his party - this time it was Senate leader Chuck Schumer.

And as the gala guests applauded Mr Schumer's remarks, the DUP leader sat with his arms folded.

Did he feel the pressure? "Not at all," was his response.

But there was defiance, too, from those sitting around him.

There is a Good Friday Agreement milestone to celebrate and no DUP boycott is going to spoil that party.

The Windsor Framework was agreed last month by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after more than a year of talks.

It aims to significantly reduce the number of checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

The DUP has yet to say whether it supports the deal - it has set up an eight-member panel to assess it and come to a "collective decision" on whether to back it.

The party's support for the Windsor Framework is seen as vital if the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Stormont executive are to function again.

The date of Mr Biden's visit has not been confirmed but there is speculation he could attend a conference at Queen's University Belfast, which runs from 17 to 19 April.

Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have both confirmed they will be attending.

Other high-profile figures are also believed to have received invites.