Northern Ireland

DUP urged to acknowledge isolation on British Brexit blueprint

The DUP is isolated in its support for Boris Johnson's Brexit proposals. Picture by Aaron Chown/PA Wire
The DUP is isolated in its support for Boris Johnson's Brexit proposals. Picture by Aaron Chown/PA Wire The DUP is isolated in its support for Boris Johnson's Brexit proposals. Picture by Aaron Chown/PA Wire

THE DUP has been urged to acknowledge that it has made the wrong call on Boris Johnson's proposals, which have been almost universally rejected on both sides of the border.

Arlene Foster's party is alone among Northern Ireland's political parties and business groups in supporting the British prime minister's plan to break the Brexit deadlock.

In addition to a proposal to keep Northern Ireland aligned to the EU single market and impose customs checks for goods moving across the border, the Tory leader has tabled a plan to give Stormont the ultimate say in whether the measures are adopted.

The north's non-unionist parties and the Dublin government dismissed the plan on the basis that it will create a hard border and give the DUP a veto, while business bodies argue that what's on offer will severely hinder competitiveness and cross-border trade.

Both the Ulster Unionists and Jim Allister's TUV reject the proposals because they claim the regulatory alignment with the EU undermines the constitutional integrity of the UK.

Former Secretary of State Lord Peter Hain yesterday added his voice to those criticising the British government's last ditch effort to secure a deal with the EU.

He raised concerns about the potential DUP veto through the so-called Stormont lock, saying it "cannot be right".

"It should be the decision of the whole of Northern Ireland's politics on a cross-community basis which is the essence of the Good Friday Agreement."

The Labour peer said Dublin's response to Mr Johnson's Brexit proposals was unsurprising.

"Because effectively what Boris Johnson's proposal is doing is dumping the problem on Dublin. It's saying, 'we won't put up a hard border infrastructure on the UK side of the Irish border, but you do your worst'," he told the BBC.

"And the Irish government will have no choice if the proposal is somehow accepted, or certainly if no deal falls out."

Lord Hain said the solution was to have the same rules either side of the border for customs, trade, standards and regulations.

He said the DUP "doesn't speak for Northern Ireland".

"It may be the biggest party, it's entitled to have its views respected, but it doesn't speak for the whole of Northern Ireland – and what Boris Johnson is doing, as Theresa May did before her, is putting himself in the pocket of one party," he sad.

"That relinquishes an honest broker role and that is very dangerous."

SDLP Brexit spokesman Daniel McCrossan said the DUP was "isolated".

"Even they must accept that they are on the wrong side of this – every other political party has rejected the proposals, the business community has said they are unworkable, agrifood businesses are worried about a tariff wall and the impact on integrated cross-border supply chains," he said.

"Despite the, frankly desperate, attempts to blame the Irish government, everyone can see where the responsibility for this failure rests."

The West Tyrone MLA's remarks came as the TUC became the latest organisation to reject the Boris Johnson's proposals.

In a speech in Belfast today TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady will say that what's being tabled at the moment fails to protect jobs and workers' rights, and threatens the Good Friday Agreement.

"These proposals would destabilise the Good Friday Agreement as well as destroying the good jobs on which peace depends," she will say.

“The prime minister must comply with the law and rule out no deal so we can find a real solution to the Brexit crisis, that delivers for working people in Northern Ireland and across the UK."

:: Who's said No to Boris's proposals?

Sinn Féin

Ulster Unionists

SDLP

Alliance

Greens

Traditional Unionist Voice

CBI-Ibec

Freight NI

NI Retail consortium

Federation of Small Businesses

Manufacturing NI

Retail NI