Starmer to meet Belfast political leaders

2 years ago 16
ARTICLE AD BOX

Starmer Stormont

Image caption,

Sir Keir Stormont arrives at Stormont on Friday morning

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer is meeting politicians and business groups during a visit to Belfast on Friday.

It comes after Sir Keir visited Dublin, where he said issues posed by the Northern Ireland Protocol can be overcome with flexibility, good faith and trust.

The Brexit-related protocol creates a trade border in the Irish Sea.

It is expected to be a major topic of discussion in talks on Friday.

Sir Keir will meet representatives from the SDLP and Alliance Party before lunch.

He met Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald in Belfast on Thursday and is not expected to speak to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) or Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) as he met members from those parties recently in Westminster.

Sir Keir's last visit to Northern Ireland was almost a year ago.

Image source, Michael Cooper

Image caption,

Sir Keir Starmer and Shadow Secretary of State Peter Kyle talk to assembly speaker Alex Maskey at Stormont

Unionist parties oppose the Northern Ireland Protocol and say it diminishes their Britishness. The DUP is refusing to operate Stormont until its concerns are dealt with.

The UK government has indicated that it will introduce legislation to disapply part of the international treaty it signed.

However, there is some speculation over whether such legislation will follow international law.

After a week where Westminster drama has dominated, today attention will switch to Stormont.

It will host Sir Keir Starmer almost a year since his last visit, and still the row over the protocol goes on.

He'll meet some of the parties and spell out his view of the government's plan to override parts of the deal agreed with the EU.

Yesterday Sir Keir accused Boris Johnson of taking a wrecking ball to relations between Ireland and the UK; today others will ask what would Labour do differently?

Speaking in Dublin on Thursday, Sir Keir said Labour believe in abiding by international rules and that, while the protocol is challenging, "we've faced much greater challenges than that in our shared history".

"I think with flexibility on both sides, with good faith, statecraft and trust around the negotiating table, we can deal with the remaining issues.

"My concern is that we have a prime minister who doesn't have those attributes. Trust is very important in all of this."

He accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being distracted over "saving his own skin".

Earlier this week, Mr Johnson survived a Conservative Party vote of no confidence in his leadership, but over 40% of his MPs voted against him.

What is the protocol?

The trade deal governs how goods enter Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK and was agreed by the UK government and the European Union following the Brexit vote in 2019.

It was designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland when the UK left the European Union.

However, it led to new goods checks at Northern Ireland sea ports on some products from Great Britain, effectively creating a new trade border in the Irish Sea.

Unionist parties, including the DUP, argue that this has led to extra costs and unnecessary delays, as well as undermining the union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

A row over its impact has created a block on forming a devolved government in Northern Ireland, with the DUP blocking the establishment of the assembly since Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party in last month's election.

The DUP, which has the second highest number of Stormont seats, has refused to support the election of a new speaker or first and deputy first minister until there is "action" on the protocol.

The BBC understands there is still some work being done on the legal text of the new protocol bill, which has yet to be signed off by ministers.

Liz Truss is said to be keen for the legislation to get through the Commons before the summer recess.

Read Entire Article