MPs will debate a motion next week on the so-called “Stormont brake” – a key part of the new Brexit deal agreed between the UK and EU attempting to solve issues in Northern Ireland.
Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt confirmed the move in the Commons, saying the debate on one of the main elements of the Windsor Framework would take place on Wednesday and the detail of the legislation would be published on Monday.
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The Windsor agreement was announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen at the end of last month in the hope of solving ongoing problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol – the post-Brexit arrangement designed to prevent a hard border being reintroduced on the island of Ireland.
While both sides had signed up to the initial deal, it led to trade barriers being created between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refused to form an executive at the Stormont Assembly until the protocol was scrapped, leaving the region without an administration.
It is still not clear if the DUP will accept the replacement, as it has concerns about Northern Ireland still having to follow some EU goods laws – something the party believes threatens their place within the UK’s internal market and damages their sovereignty.
But the government is hoping the Stormont brake – allowing Northern Irish parties to block any changes to, or newly created EU goods laws, via Westminster – will provide enough reassurance.
Speaking about the measure on Tuesday, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said: “We must be clear that any mechanism exercised by 30 MLAs (members of the Northern Ireland Assembly) is effective in law and will allow locally elected representatives of the people of Northern Ireland to determine whether amended or new laws are implemented.
“We cannot have a situation where Northern Ireland diverges from its most important market – that being the rest of the United Kingdom.”
Conservative Brexiteers have been widely supportive of the framework so far, with Steve Baker – now a Northern Ireland minister – telling Sky News it “restores Northern Ireland’s place in the union”.
He added: “I think this is a win and I think it’s very important in politics to know when you’ve had a win-win solution for all sides – bank it and move forwards… this is a time to bank what is a radical improvement for the people of Northern Ireland.”
But former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg warned backbench Brexiteers would follow the DUP’s lead on whether to approve it.
And former prime minister, Boris Johnson – who signed the UK up to the original post-Brexit deal – said he would find it “very difficult” to vote for the agreement.
He said the government should have stuck to a bill created by his administration that could unilaterally scrap parts of the protocol without agreement from the EU, despite the fact it led to legal challenges.
There had been question marks over whether MPs would get a vote over any of the measures, despite Rishi Sunak promising MPs could have their say.
But last week, Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton Harris confirmed there would be a vote in Parliament.