Growing acknowledgment at Westminster that 'real change' to Windsor Framework is needed - Lord Dodds
There is a growing acknowledgment at Westminster that that real changes are needed to the Windsor Framework – but only the replacement of the deal will secure Northern Ireland’s economic and constitutional position, a DUP peer has said.
Lord Nigel Dodds has also welcomed comments from the Tory NI spokesman Lord Caine that “more fundamental changes are going to be needed”.
The comments came as Peers debated new evidence gathered by the Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee this week, which set out “further evidence” on the challenges facing business under the UK-EU deal.
The scrutiny body has warned that customs issues would not be resolved by the Government’s proposed UK-EU ‘reset’ – and asked for greater clarity on which aspects of the Windsor Framework are in scope of the ongoing negotiations with the European Union, and which are not.
The Labour administration is seeking an SPS deal with Brussels which it says would reduce checks on the Irish Sea border – but has committed to the framework remaining intact.
Lord Dodds told the News Letter that “the continuing forensic examination and scrutiny of the undemocratic and economically damaging protocol/Windsor framework in Parliament continues”.
The DUP peer added: “I welcome the contribution of Lord Caine, the opposition Northern Ireland spokesman, where he acknowledged that significant problems remain, including trade diversion.
“He also stated that democratic scrutiny measures such as the Stormont brake have not worked as effectively or strongly as his government had hoped.
“I also welcome his acceptance that the Windsor framework is not the final word and that at some point, more fundamental changes are going to be needed to deal with the outstanding problems.
“There are alternatives including mutual enforcement which safeguard our sovereignty whilst removing any frictions to trade”.
Lord Dodds also said that “only the replacement of the Windsor Framework will safeguard Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom’s internal market – and our constitutional position”.