London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Dec 02, 2025

MPs back Rishi Sunak's new Brexit Northern Ireland deal

MPs back Rishi Sunak's new Brexit Northern Ireland deal

Rishi Sunak's new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland has been passed by MPs, despite a rebellion from 22 of his backbenchers.

Ex-PMs Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were among Tories joining Northern Ireland's DUP in voting against the agreement.

But it passed by 515 to 29 overall, with the backing of other Tories, Labour and the SNP.

The deal, unveiled last month, rewrites the Brexit accord agreed by Mr Johnson in 2019.

Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker denounced the two former PMs for opposing it, saying he thought "they're both better than this".

Mr Johnson risks "looking like a pound shop Nigel Farage" by voting against the deal, added Mr Baker, who supported the UK's EU exit in 2016.

Former Brexit leader Nigel Farage fired back on Twitter, saying Mr Baker had betrayed his Brexiteer credentials and was a "weasel" for supporting the deal.

Mark Francois, the chair of the ERG group of Eurosceptic Tories, confirmed earlier its "strong recommendation" was for Tory MPs to defy orders from party managers and reject the deal.

As well as Mr Johnson and Ms Truss, Tory MPs voting against the deal included former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Priti Patel, who was home secretary under Mr Johnson, also voted against, writing in the Telegraph before the vote that Mr Sunak should "negotiate a better deal".

The vote is on a key part of the deal, known as the Stormont brake, that would give a future Northern Ireland Assembly a way to challenge new EU goods legislation.

The vote is likely to be the only vote MPs get on Mr Sunak's renegotiated deal, known as the Windsor Framework.

Around 100 MPs didn't take part in the vote. This number will include those who abstained, along with those who did not vote for another reason or were given permission not to.

The original Brexit withdrawal deal negotiated by Mr Johnson introduced a series of checks on goods sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, in order to avoid a border with the Irish Republic.

Despite originally billing the agreement as a "great deal for our country," Mr Johnson went on to join Tory Brexiters in bemoaning the economic impact of the checks it introduced.

The changes negotiated by Mr Sunak aim to streamline the checks process, which have also proved highly unpopular among unionists in Northern Ireland.


Speaking in the Commons, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said the Stormont brake would give assembly members in Northern Ireland "robust" powers to challenge EU laws.

But in a statement issued before the vote, Mr Johnson said it was "unacceptable".

"The proposed arrangements would mean either that Northern Ireland remained captured by the EU legal order - and was increasingly divergent from the rest of the UK - or they would mean that the whole of the U.K. was unable properly to diverge and take advantage of Brexit," he added.

He said it would be better to proceed with controversial legislation giving British ministers the power to override the original deal, which Mr Sunak has shelved due to his new agreement.

Ms Truss is also said to believe the new framework "fatally impinges" on the UK's ability to diverge from EU rules.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he will continue to work with the government on "outstanding issues" - even though Downing Street said there are no plans for any substantial change to the deal.

The European Research Group (ERG) of Eurosceptic Tory MPs has criticised the Stormont brake, with legal experts advising them it was "practically useless".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
UK to Raise Online Betting Taxes by £1.1 Billion Under New Budget — Firms Warn of Fallout
Lamine Yamal? The ‘Heir to Messi’ Lost to Barcelona — and the Kingdom Is in a Frenzy
Warner Music Group Drops Suit Against Suno, Launches Licensed AI-Music Deal
HP to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs Globally as It Ramps Up AI Integration
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Promises ‘Full-Time’ Education for All Children as School Attendance Slips
UK Extends Sugar Tax to Sweetened Milkshakes and Lattes in 2028 Health Push
UK Government Backs £49 Billion Plan for Heathrow Third Runway and Expansion
UK Gambling Firms Report £1bn Surge in Annual Profits as Pressure Mounts for Higher Betting Taxes
UK Shares Advance Ahead of Budget as Financials and Consumer Staples Lead Gains
Domino’s UK CEO Andrew Rennie Steps Down Amid Strategic Reset
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
UK Budget 2025: Markets Brace as Chancellor Faces Fiscal Tightrope
UK Unveils Strategic Plan to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
UK Taskforce Calls for Radical Reset of Nuclear Regulation to Cut Costs and Accelerate Build
UK Government Launches Consultation on Major Overhaul of Settlement Rules
Google Struggles to Meet AI Demand as Infrastructure, Energy and Supply-Chain Gaps Deepen
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
Arsenal Move Six Points Clear After Eze’s Historic Hat-Trick in Derby Rout
Wealthy New Yorkers Weigh Second Homes as the ‘Mamdani Effect’ Ripples Through Luxury Markets
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
UK Unveils Critical-Minerals Strategy to Break China Supply-Chain Grip
×