London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Sep 12, 2026

NI Protocol: MPs to vote on plans to ditch parts of Brexit deal

NI Protocol: MPs to vote on plans to ditch parts of Brexit deal

MPs will vote on Monday on new legislation to give ministers the power to scrap parts of the post-Brexit deal between the UK and the EU.

The government wants to change the NI Protocol to make it easier for some goods to flow from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Ahead of the vote, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the protocol was undermining peace in Northern Ireland.

But the EU opposes the move, saying it breaches international law.

The protocol is part of the 2019 Brexit deal and keeps Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods, preventing a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.

But it means checks on some items which come into Northern Ireland from other parts of the UK, creating a trade border in the Irish Sea.

The government's plans, published earlier in June, faced a fierce backlash from the EU, which launched legal action against the UK government over the legislation.

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic has also indicated that further measures may follow if the bill proceeds, including a trade war between the UK and EU.

The protocol is opposed by unionists in Northern Ireland who argue it undermines Northern Ireland's place in the UK.

Sinn Féin won the most seats in May's assembly election but the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which came second, is refusing to re-enter a power-sharing executive until its concerns about the protocol are addressed.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Sunday night that the protocol was undermining the peace and stability secured in Northern Ireland by the Good Friday Agreement.

Three Northern Ireland parties - Sinn Féin, Alliance and the SDLP, who collectively won the most seats in May's election - say the protocol is necessary to mitigate the effects of Brexit in Northern Ireland.


What is in the Northern Ireland Protocol bill?


The UK government published plans for the bill earlier this month. At the centre of the proposal is the concept of green lanes and red lanes for trade.

This would mean:

*  Goods coming from Great Britain (GB) into Northern Ireland (NI) and which are staying would use the green lane. This means there would be no checks and paperwork would be minimal

*  GB goods moving through NI into Ireland or the wider European Union would use the red lane and continue to be checked at NI ports

London also wants any trade disputes resolved by "independent arbitration" and not by the European Court of Justice, and for Northern Ireland to benefit from the same tax breaks as elsewhere in the UK.

After a debate on Monday, MPs will then vote on whether the bill can proceed for further consideration.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer confirmed his party will vote against the legislation, adding that they would scrap the proposed laws if it was in power.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson may also face opposition from his backbenches after he overcame a vote of confidence among Conservative MPs earlier in June.


This is another big day at Westminster and one that could expose just how many problems Boris Johnson has with rebels in his own party.

Bruised from the by-election defeats last week, some may seek to punish him further by voting against the bill or abstaining.

However, according to several London sources, a large rebellion is unlikely.

Regardless, it's thought the government wants to push the bill through its remaining Commons stages before summer recess - a move that will spark strong reaction in Belfast and Brussels.

The DUP has welcomed the move but there's still some way to go before it will commit to return to power-sharing government in Northern Ireland.

Other parties, including Sinn Féin, say the bill breaks international law and are urging MPs to vote it down.

In a statement ahead of the vote, Ms Truss said: "This legislation will fix the problems the protocol has created, ensuring that goods can flow freely within the UK, while avoiding a hard border and safeguarding the EU single market.

"A negotiated solution has been and remains our preference, but the EU continues to rule out changing the protocol itself - even though it is patently causing serious problems in Northern Ireland - which therefore means we are obliged to act."

The EU has said it is unwilling to renegotiate the protocol but has offered to work on different aspects of how it is implemented.

Earlier this week, Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin said the UK government's plans would be "economic vandalism" on Northern Ireland.


What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?


*  The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit deal: it means lorries don't face checkpoints when they go from Northern Ireland (in the UK) to the Republic of Ireland (in the EU)

*  Instead, when goods arrive in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK (England, Scotland and Wales), they are checked against EU rules

*  The UK and the EU chose this arrangement because the Irish border is a sensitive issue due to Northern Ireland's troubled political history


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Reviews Nationwide Emergency Alert Tests After Systems Meet Reliability Targets
UK Seeks Faster Rail Links Across Northern Industrial Corridors
British Business Bank Allocates £150 Million for High-Growth Companies in Northern England
BBC Warns Staff Strikes Are Possible Amid Pay Dispute and £500 Million Savings Drive
UK Backs Short Extension of UN Sudan Sanctions Regime
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Defends Early Prison Release Reforms and Growth Strategy
Reform UK Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Effort to Circumvent Foreign Donation Rules
UK Analysts Warn Tax Rises or Spending Cuts May Be Needed to Preserve Fiscal Headroom
Jaguar Land Rover Plans Up to 4,000 Job Cuts in £1.7 Billion Cost-Saving Drive
UK Chancellor Warns of Difficult October Budget as Borrowing Costs Rise
UK Declares Israeli Occupation of West Bank Unlawful and Expands Sanctions
UK House of Commons Rejects Assisted Dying Bill for England and Wales
English Councils to Gain Power to Introduce Tourist Taxes by 2028
Kemi Badenoch Reshuffles Conservative Shadow Cabinet
Firefighters Make Progress Containing Major Wildfires in South Wales
John Lewis Partnership Reports £124 Million Loss
Study Says UK AI Data Centres Will Create Only a Quarter of Forecast Jobs
UK Government Considers Higher Industrial Water Prices Amid Supply Pressures
Andy Burnham Holds First Call With Donald Trump as UK Prime Minister
NHS Records Busiest Summer on Record as Heatwaves Drive Hospital Admissions
Home Secretary Orders Police Crackdown on Far-Right Anti-Migrant Vigilantes
UK Supreme Court Rules Northern Ireland Religious Education Curriculum Breaches Human Rights Standards
Markets Price in Four Bank of England Rate Rises by Next Summer
House of Commons Prepares Free Vote on Assisted Dying Bill
UK Government Bans Trade With Israeli Settlements in Occupied Territories
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Artificial Intelligence Investment Supports Expansion
Andy Burnham Becomes UK Prime Minister After Keir Starmer Resigns
John Lewis Partnership Loss Widens to £124 Million
UK Government to Put White Working-Class Social Mobility at Centre of Equality Policy
McLaren Plans £450 Million Technology Investment Creating 1,000 UK Jobs
UK Chancellor Faces Calls for Wealth Taxes and Public Ownership in Autumn Budget
English Mayors to Gain Powers to Impose Uncapped Overnight Tourist Taxes
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Government Against Bank Windfall Taxes
UK Air Traffic Control Outage Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
UK Imposes Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
UK Borrowing Costs Surge as Middle East Tensions Push Long-Term Gilt Yields to Highest Since 1998
Buckingham Palace Says Prince Harry and Meghan Will Not Resume Official Royal Duties
UK Treasury Faces Calls to Scrap £100,000 Childcare Support Threshold
Trades Union Congress Urges Labour Government to Rewrite Migration Policy
Riot Police Deployed After Anti-Migrant Protests Turn Violent in Portsmouth
UK Considers Replacing Some Disability Cash Payments With Direct Services
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Chancellor Against Higher Banking Taxes
UK Announces New Sanctions Targeting Israeli Settlements in West Bank
Metropolitan Police Investigate Alleged Illegal Donations to Reform UK
UK Charges Wiltshire Man With Assisting Russian Intelligence
UK Orders Urgent Review After Air Traffic Failure Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
Merz Rebukes AfD Expansion in Saxony-Anhalt
King Charles Confirms Prince Harry and Meghan Will Remain Private Citizens
Labour Selects Former Child Refugee for By-Election in Keir Starmer’s Former Seat
Foreign Private Equity Accelerates Takeovers of London-Listed Industrial Companies
×