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Also, EXCLUSIVE : the PM’s NI deal is in tatters as it fails half the DUP’s tests

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Brexit Facts4EU.Org looks at what was said yesterday – and why it could matter a lot

Yesterday evening there must have been steam exuding from the ears of those sitting in an office deep within No.10 Downing Street, as the PM and his advisers watched his Home Secretary take to the airwaves in an exclusive and highly-watchable televised interview with Liam Halligan for GBNews. (Watch it below.)

In Brexit Facts4EU.Org’s analysis today, we summarise what readers need to know – and very importantly what the significance of it all might be. We also reveal – EXCLUSIVELY – the off-the-record, ‘deep background’ whispers from our sources close to the discussions between No.10 and the MPs from the DUP.

1. EXCLUSIVE – Sunak’s deal is sunk below the waterline

Rishi Sunak’s NI Protocol deal with the EU looks to be dead, according to whispers from close (and usually reliable) sources of Brexit Facts4EU.Org and CIBUK.Org.

Inexplicably the government’s text of the proposed deal with the EU was written without the involvement of the DUP or any other unionist parties in Northern Ireland. Instead, it seems that Mr Sunak’s officials quietly applied the loosely-worded tests from the DUP written 18 months ago as they understood them, without once asking the DUP (nor the ERG) for a fully-descriptive set against which any EU offers could be judged.

We further understand that the Leader of the DUP, Sir Jeffery Donaldson MP, has said privately that the PM “needs to show some mettle” with the EU.

For the moment, it seems that all of Facts4EU.Org’s predictions in recent months are correct.

It is against this background that the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Suella Braverman MP, gave her TV interview yesterday evening to GBNews.

2. The GBNews TV interview with Suella Braverman last night

Yesterday in a scoop for the UK’s newest broadcaster, the Home Secretary gave her first major televised interview. In the midst of a tumultuous week, for the Home Secretary to give any kind of interview sent a clear message to No.10.

Below are the excerpts transcribed from the video by Brexit Facts4EU.Org in relation to sovereignty, Northern Ireland, and the Home Secretary’s own position. We have added our commentary.

[ Sources: GBNEWS | Westminster sources on ‘deep background’ ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thurs 23 Feb 2023

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Mrs Adamson and the good folk of Sunderland were right in 2016 – and here’s why

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They voted Leave despite job threats from Cameron, Osborne, and employers – and are doing fine

On 23 June 2016, the voters of Sunderland cast aside the threats made to their community and to their jobs and livelihoods and voted to leave the European Union. Nearly seven years on from that historic vote we look at that great city and its surrounds, and provide some facts about what they faced – and what has happened since.

In the EU Referendum in Sunderland 82,394 voted Leave and only 51,930 voted Remain – a majority of nearly 23%. This far exceeded the national average for Leave.

Voting Leave was about the whole UK, not just those living in Islington or the South-East

EU Referendum night

On the night of 23-24 June 2016, millions of British viewers were glued to the BBC’s all-night EU Referendum broadcast, hosted by David Dimbleby.

The first four results that came in had all gone to Remain. Before Sunderland was declared at the city’s official count which took place at its Silksworth Tennis Centre, Remain was in the lead by 27,256 votes. With Sunderland, all that changed. For the first time in the evening and in one fell swoop, Leave was suddenly leading overall – by 3,208 votes.

Who can forget the unbridled and jubilant reaction from Mrs Samantha Adamson as her husband lifted her onto his shoulders in celebration as the result was declared? Yes, it was only one result, but it was a significant one and it even moved the international money markets. Suddenly the confident Remain side which had had almost every poll on its side started to get nervous.

The pressure on Sunderland voters – the Nissan factor

Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK is important to Sunderland. According to the Company it employs 6,000 people directly and around 24,000 more in its supply chain.

Three days before the vote the Company had to make it clear that its staff would make up their own minds which way to vote, but added:

“It is Nissan’s preference as a business to remain in the EU”

– Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK, Sunderland, 20 June 2016

On 23 June 2016 134,324 people voted in Sunderland. 30,000 people whose livelihoods depended on Nissan represent 22% of that total, assuming they all voted which of course they didn’t. However it must be remembered that those workers will have had family members too.

If a good proportion of the 30,000 had voted in what they might probably have seen as being in their own economic interests, then the result would have gone the other way and Remain would have taken Sunderland.

So, what has happened to the economy of the North-East since the Referendum?

Just like the rest of the country, the North-East was threatened with massive job losses – regardless of Nissan’s decision whether to move to the EU or not – and with economic Armageddon. As we reported yesterday, the public was told that a Leave vote would immediately trigger a recession.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org has analysed the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics which run up to the end of 2021.

About Sunderland

A port city on England’s north-east coast, Sunderland has undergone a transformation over recent decades. Once known for its home-grown shipbuilding industry, this collapsed while the UK was a member of the EEC (now EU) and has never recovered. In 1986 the Japanese company Nissan moved in and established the first of its automotive plants there, as we reported above.

Since then Sunderland has gone from strength to strength, adding the Doxford International Business Park and attracting IT, AI, and other technology companies. There are new shopping malls, civic facilities, and many of the river frontage areas have been redeveloped.

Nissan itself has done well. Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders in January confirm that the home-grown Qashqai – designed in Paddington, engineered in Cranfield, and built in Sunderland – was the UK’s best-selling car in 2022.

• Nissan Qashqai was the best-selling car in the UK last year, with 42,704 sales
• First British-built UK best-seller since 1998
• Qashqai showcases UK automotive design, engineering and manufacturing talent

And what of Samantha Adamson?

“I definitely feel that working-class people got their voice heard”

– Samantha Adamson, on the BBC in July 2016

In October when Nissan announced its investment plans for Sunderland she told ITV News :-

“I’m absolutely over the moon that that has happened. I never thought for one minute that Nissan would turn their back on Sunderland just because we voted to leave the EU. Now that 7,000 jobs are going to be secure for the foreseeable future, I think it’s fantastic. It’s fantastic for Sunderland and now I think that the politicians and especially the Labour MPs just need to get behind Brexit and make it work.”

– Samantha Adamson, Sunderland Brexit Campaigner, 27 Oct 2016

[ Sources: Sunderland City Council | BBC | Office for National Statistics | Electoral Commission | ITV News | Nissan ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 22 Feb 2023

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Facts4EU summarises 2016-2022 UK economic growth for Brexiteers and Remainer-Rejoiners

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When will anyone responsible ever apologise to the British people for Project Fear?

One of the greatest propaganda campaigns in British history was launched on the British people ahead of the EU Referendum in June 2016. It failed, but has anyone ever been held accountable?

The 2016 Remainer government of David Cameron and George Osborne, the Treasury, the Remain campaign, (and almost every ‘expert’ they could find) issued dire warnings that a recession would start immediately following a vote to leave the EU.

This recession never materialised.

The UK economy compared with the G7 group of developed nations in the last seven years

What follows must be seen against the Remainer government, Remain campaigns, and almost every ‘expert’ organisation they could find predicting that the UK economy would immediately “fall off a cliff” if the public voted to leave the EU.

The chart below shows that it didn’t.

Here is some of what the British public were threatened with if they voted ‘Leave’

Enormously long technical documents were produced by the Government, the Treasury, the Bank of England and many others, all telling the public that the UK economy would “fall off a cliff” immediately, in the event of a vote to Leave the EU.

The public was told it would not have to wait. The impact would be severe and it would hit immediately. Here is a very small, random selection.

No recession caused by the Leave vote, 2 million more employed, not 520,000 jobs lost

The so-called ‘experts’ could not have been more wrong. In some cases – as with employment – the official figures show that the UK has done the polar opposite of what all these ‘experts’ predicted – by a factor of four.

Some might say the job losses which should have occurred should have been the positions of the thousands of economists, functionaries and politicians who were responsible for this grievous attempt to mislead the British public. And if they truly believed what they had been saying they should have resigned on principle, on the grounds of incompetence.

To the best of our knowledge, not one of them did so.

We must remember this

Choppy waters lie ahead. The UK is highly unlikely to top the G7 leaderboard in 2023 but there are other causes for this. Remember one thing: In the two years since the UK (excluding NI) left the European Union, (2021 and 2022), the UK has been the fastest-growing economy in the G7 group of developed nations.

[ Sources: Office for National Statistics | OECD | IMF | BoE | HM Treasury ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Tues 21 Feb 2023

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Facts4EU.Org demolishes yet another BBC report denigrating Brexit Britain – using facts

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“This propaganda organisation long ago gave up any claim to being impartial”, says Brexit Facts4EU.Org

On Saturday the BBC published yet another biased report. This time we are not letting them get away with it. In our own report below we take them apart and ask why the British public should continue to be forced to pay £3.8bn per year for this. (The BBC’s total earnings last year including international sales amounted to £5.3bn.)

The BBC’s report has the banner heading: “Why is the UK economy lagging behind the US, Germany and others?”

The BBC cites seven people or organisations. The only pro-Brexit individual who is quoted in the report is described – twice – as such. They even use that term for him: “pro-Brexit”. Bizarrely – or not – the pro-EU stance of the other six is never mentioned anywhere, but we will come to that.

From the report’s headline, to its use of charts, to its use of forecasts from pro-EU organisations, to the quotes from apparently-independent experts, we show what a travesty the once-great institution known as the British Broadcasting Corporation has become.

The BBC’s report – the quick message most readers would take from this

© BBC 2023

Here is how the BBC’s report starts, uncut and in its entirety :-

“The UK economy is struggling – and people are feeling it in their pockets, as wages fail to keep up with rising prices. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the UK economy will shrink this year while every other major economy will grow.

“The Bank of England also forecasts a recession in the UK in 2023 – albeit one that is shorter and less severe than previously forecast. Perhaps it’s not surprising the outlook is bleak given the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and soaring costs of both energy and food.

“But why is the UK seemingly faring worse than other rich countries such as the US, Germany and France?” [Our emphasis]

– BBC report, “Why is the UK economy lagging behind the US, Germany and others?”, Sat 18 Feb 2023

Well, the reason can only be Brexit, can’t it? That is clearly the inference we are supposed to draw. There can be no question but that a reader quickly scanning many news stories will instantly form a negative impression of the performance of Brexit Britain from this opening. The scene has been set. Whatever follows is against this background.

The BBC’s report continues, about the economy and workforce shortages

The BBC then goes on to talk about the economy, using a large OECD chart which shows the effect of Covid on growth. Readers then have to scroll down before the BBC is forced to admit :-

“But the difference between the UK and others may not be quite as big as it appears. That’s because most countries measure the output of their public services, such as health and education, based on the costs – a nurse’s wage, for example. In the UK they are accounted for differently, by valuing the services delivered – such as operations in hospital.

“As a result, the UK’s figures better reflect the impact of closed schools and cancelled operations during Covid, as well as disruption due to strikes.” [Our emphasis.]

Unfortunately the BBC then goes back its misery agenda, despite briefly mentioning the reason for the disparity.

“Figures from the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which looks at how rich countries are performing, show the UK economy fell further than others in the first months of the pandemic.”

The BBC then falls back on that standby of the Rejoiner class – forecasts. They happily use a forecast from an organisation whose record on these has been woeful, as Brexit Facts4EU.Org has reported previously.

Here is the BBC’s forecast chart, versus the actual performance of the economy in 2022

Facts4EU.Org prefers to deal in reality rather than forecasts. Below on the left is the BBC’s chart from their report. On the right is the actual outturn for last year (2022).

The vast majority of our reports contain charts showing what has actually happened, rather than the guesswork of gloomy, pro-EU, forecasting organisations. Above is the comparison between what the BBC showed (a forecast from the IMF which has got it wrong time after time) and the true figures for last year from the Office for National Statistics.

Exactly who does the BBC use when it wants to quote people?

In this case – and typically – the BBC approached just one pro-Brexit economist. The rest of those they contacted or quoted are on the other side of the argument. Below we compare two of the people quoted by the BBC.

1. The token Brexiteer – Julian Jessop

The BBC refers to Mr Jessop twice in relation to Brexit, firstly as a “pro-Brexit economist” then says :

“Julian Jessop is a fellow at the free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs and describes himself as a “Brexit optimist”. He believes there are big potential gains from leaving the EU, but agrees there have been short-term economic costs.”

– BBC report, “Why is the UK economy lagging behind the US, Germany and others?”, Sat 18 Feb 2023

He has provided expert testimony to many parliamentary select committees, on topics including the economic outlook, fiscal policy, the cost of living, international trade and Brexit, and has advised the OBR. He is financially independent and is free to speak his mind – which he does.

2. One of the Remainer-Rejoiners – Diane Coyle

One of the other people quoted by the BBC is referred to as “Cambridge University economist Diane Coyle”. The BBC’s report does not say that she is a former presenter on BBC Radio 4 and was Vice-Chairman of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Neither does the BBC report mention that this “Cambridge University economist” is an ardent Remainer-Rejoiner.

In an interview at the end of 2021 entitled “Diane Coyle on Brexit and Economics at a Time of Climate Change and Inequality”, Ms Coyle said:

Let’s look briefly at just two of the organisations referred to in the BBC’s report

1. The Bank of England (BoE)

To remind readers of the BoE’s proclivities when it comes to Brexit, here’s an enthusiastic David Cameron, six weeks before the EU Referendum.

The Bank of England is right to warn leaving the EU could cause lower growth and unemployment to rise – that would hurt working people.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) May 12, 2016

2. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)

The BBC’s report describes the IFS as “an independent think tank”. In fact it receives funding from the EU Commission and from several Government departments. It also receives funding from commercial firms such as Deloittes and from pro-EU organisations such as the CBI.

In 2021 (latest data we have) the IFS received funds from the EU Commission via one of its agencies, the ‘European Research Council’, to the tune of £641,932.

In the same year the IFS received millions more from Government departments and agencies, including over £3.7 million from the ‘Economic and Social Research Council’, a government agency which seems to have spent years working on the ‘British Slave-ownership Project’.

[ Sources: BBC | Lucid | IFS | David Cameron’s Twitter | Cambridge University ] N.b. Julian Jessop played no part in this article and did not even know we were working on it. Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Mon 20 Feb 2023

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A superb article from the Rt Hon Sir John Redwood MP tells you all you need to know

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What follows is about the sovereignty of the United Kingdom as an independent country, free of the EU’s empire and fulfilling one of the key promises made in the EU Referendum.

Yes, on the surface it relates to the imminent N.I. deal being stitched together by the UK Government and the EU Commission behind closed doors – without the elected representatives of the people most affected being part of these discussions. However the principles at stake affect every single person in the United Kingdom.

If Brexit is ever to mean independence, sovereignty, democracy and freedom from the EU empire, then this is a battle we must not lose.

In this guest article he lays out the issues and debunks the myths – in a 2-minute read

---

[ Sources: The Rt Hon Sir John Redwood MP ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sun 19 Feb 2023

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EU insolvencies rocketed up by 27% in the last quarter alone (but only by 7% in Brexit Britain)

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Brexit Facts4EU.Org analyses the latest troubling news coming out of Brussels yesterday

It’s possible that the highest demand for services in the EU right now is for insolvency practitioners, judging from the exponential rise in company bankruptcies taking place there. In the last quarter of 2022 these rose by 27% on the previous quarter. In the UK the rise was just 7%.

Below we show the worrying picture. With Remainer-Rejoiners continually trying to present the EU as the land of milk and honey, Brexit Facts4EU.Org continues to research on and publish what is really happening ‘over there’.

How is Brexit Britain doing by comparison (using latest figures)?

Readers are well aware of the tough economic times in which we all live. The UK has certainly not been immune to the cold winds affecting all countries, stemming from the disastrously expensive expenditure by governments on lockdowns and then Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine which sent energy prices through the roof.

Nevertheless, here are the figures for the last quarter of 2022 – the latest information we have.

Large parts of the EU’s economy have been affected

“…the number of declarations of bankruptcies in the fourth quarter of 2022 was higher in the majority of sectors of the economy”

– EU Commission statistics agency, 17 Feb 2023

The EU’s bankruptcies are affecting nearly all sectors, from transportation and storage (+72.2%), to industry, to construction, to accommodation and food services, to professional and financial services, to education, and to health and social activities.

[ Sources: EU Commission (Eurostat) | UK’s Office for National Statistics ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sat 18 Feb 2023

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Jobs up? Wages up? Surely this can’t be happening in Brexit Britain?

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Brexit Facts4EU.Org summarises latest jobs and pay data, defying Rejoiners’ gloom

The number of payrolled employees in the UK in January rose by over ¾ of a million (768,000) compared with a year earlier, defying the backdrop of difficult economic conditions worldwide.

Not only that, but in January 2023 median monthly pay increased by 6.8% compared with January 2022, and has increased by 17.6% when compared with February 2020.

Facts4EU.Org’s analysis of the latest jobs and wages data from the ONS will make Rejoiners even more grumpy than they already are. Perhaps they should look away now.

Latest set of jobs and pay data makes for grim reading for Remainer-Rejoiners

On Tuesday (14 Feb 2023) the Office for National Statistics issued its latest report on employment and earnings for January. Below we summarise these impressive results for our readers.

Let’s take rising employment first

All of the latest figures must be seen against the backdrop of a worsening economic situation amongst all advanced economies, primarily caused by the enormous financial hangover of global governments’ overreactions to the Covid pandemic, plus the hike in energy costs thanks to Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Despite this, Brexit Britain’s performance has not only been impressive, it has completely destroyed the credibility of the Remainer-Rejoiners’ forecasts.

Over three-quarters of a million more people are now in payrolled employment, compared to one year ago. And this figure is up by 2.1 million since the EU Referendum.

Rise in average pay – “But what about inflation?” cry the doom-mongerers

If you believe the BBC, UK inflation is currently running at 10.5%. Only it isn’t.

The official measure of inflation is what is known as ‘CPIH’ and it includes the cost of housing. This is what the ONS uses in its official, headline figures. The official figure for January was published on 15 February (2023) and it fell to 8.8% in January.

The BBC continues to use the old measure called CPI. Even if they use that measure they got it wrong. It is not 10.5% as they claim, but 10.1%. That’s the official ONS figure for January. If we knew the figure was coming out on Wednesday, so did they.

Finally on inflation – and before Remainer-Rejoiners accuse us of being ‘selective’ – we’re sorry to tell them that the EU’s official statistics agency uses the same headline figure for inflation as the UK’s ONS, and that is CPIH.

The BBC says “However, when adjusted for inflation which is at 10.5%, regular pay fell by 2.5%.” Not true, even if one uses the outdated CPI measure the BBC uses.

Using the official measure (CPIH) the effect on real wages (accounting for inflation) is a small reduction of 1.3%. Considering the headwinds faced by the economy over the energy crisis caused by Putin, this is not a bad result.

[ Source: Office for National Statistics| ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Fri 17 Feb 2023

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The day the EU went to war with itself : Tuesday, 15 February 2023

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EU lectures UK about “rule of law” yet takes 124 legal actions against EU27 in ONE DAY

In a single day, the press statements from Ursula von Der Leyen’s EU Commission about EU lawbreaking eclipsed all other news on the EU’s website. Yesterday (15 Feb 2023) the EU Commission issued a long list of 124 infringements of EU Laws, Directives, and Decisions, covering every country in the EU’s Empire, barring its colony of Northern Ireland.

During what must be the single biggest day of legal attacks by Ursula von der Leyen’s EU Commission on its own member countries, we witnessed the publication of an ever-increasing torrent of legal actions of one sort or another. These ranged from the tedious (failing to transpose an EU law into that country’s statutes) to the serious. In Poland’s case, for example, the EU’s action is tantamount to putting its judiciary system in the dock, stopping all payments, and risking Poland walking away in a legal ‘Polexit’.

Here’s the list that appeared yesterday on the EU’s news site as the day wore on

The interference by an unelected and autocratic body – the EU Commission – in the internal affairs of its member countries yesterday escalated to epic proportions. Below we present the sheer scale and breadth of the Commission’s legal actions

The EU Commission ends on triumphal note – UK pays fine of €2.7 billion

In a long-running case, the UK was taken to the court in Luxembourg over monies the Commission was claiming had been underpaid to it. The EU’s judges handed down their decision on 08 March 2022 and naturally found the UK guilty.

In its final and 125th legal act this case was declared closed by the EU Commission yesterday, after the UK paid a fine of €2,679,637,088.86 (approx £2.4 billion GBP), plus four-fifths of the (unquantified) costs.

[ Sources: EU Commission | Court of Justice of the EU ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thurs 16 Feb 2023

The EU contains its Brussels ‘Empire Control’, 27 countries, and 1 colony – Northern Ireland

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2023

Pre-Brexit, the United Kingdom contained four nations – now it only has three

It is unconscionable (or should be) that in the 2020’s a foreign empire could take one of four parts of the United Kingdom as a colony – yet that is precisely what it has done.

In the next two weeks it is Brexit Facts4EU’s considered view based on multiple sources that Rishi Sunak’s Government will announce another sell-out to the EU. Specifically, he – or one of his Ministers – will announce the outcome of the negotiations with the European Union Commission over the vexed question of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Our report today is about the fundamental issue of sovereignty, on which all other arguments rest. The content below is not simply about Northern Ireland and it could fatally damage the Prime Minister’s political fortunes.

In preparation for this major news story, Brexit Facts4EU.Org is providing readers with some context against which to judge the Government’s announcement when it comes. We look at the fundamental principles as well as the position of the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party).

What are the “7 Tests” which the DUP will apply to Rishi’s deal?

As long ago as 15 July 2021, DUP Leader the Rt Hon Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP stood up in the House of Commons during the debate led by Sir Bernard Jenkin MP on the Northern Ireland Protocol. He set out the DUP’s “7 tests” which any resolution of this EU-created problem would have to satisfy.

© DUP 2023 – click to enlarge

One year and seven months later and it seems extraordinary that once again the Government has failed to resolve an urgent matter in relation to Brexit. In the world of business it is highly likely that this would all have been concluded within four to six weeks.

For readers who like to read more detail…

Why is the DUP’s approach less strident than ours?

The DUP’s main audience – especially with elections coming up in May – is quite naturally the people of Northern Ireland. This article should therefore be read in this context. Facts4EU’s and CIBUK’s audiences are more focused on the United Kingdom as a whole (including Northern Ireland) as well as to some extent including international readers.

When it comes to the EU’s Northern Ireland Protocol, the DUP, Facts4EU, and CIBUK and its other Affiliates all agree on one thing: The Protocol must go. Our messages may be nuanced in different ways but the end goal is the same. Sovereignty is all.

The absurdity and overt hostility of the EU

Regular readers will know that since its introduction Brexit Facts4EU has only ever advocated resiling from the N.I. Protocol completely.

It has caused major problems in the Province. And all of this over an infinitesimally small (for the EU) amount of goods trade from Northern Ireland which supposedly “threatens the integrity of the Single Market”.

© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2023 – click to enlarge

[ Sources: DUP | Hansard ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 15 Feb 2023

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(See our main article here for all the latest, and please comment on the main article, not this one.)

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2023

Here is how Sir Bernard Jenkin MP introduced the debate

“I beg to move, that this House supports the primary aims of the Northern Ireland Protocol of the EU Withdrawal Agreement, which are to uphold the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions and to respect the integrity of the EU and UK internal markets; recognises that new infrastructure and controls at the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic must be avoided to maintain the peace in Northern Ireland and to encourage stability and trade; notes that the volume of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland far exceeds the trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; further notes that significant provisions of the Protocol remain subject to grace periods and have not yet been applied to trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and that there is no evidence that this has presented any significant risk to the EU internal market; regards flexibility in the application of the Protocol as being in the mutual interests of the EU and UK, given the unique constitutional and political circumstances of Northern Ireland; regrets EU threats of legal action; notes the EU and UK have made a mutual commitment to adopt measures with a view to avoiding controls at the ports and airports of Northern Ireland to the extent possible; is conscious of the need to avoid separating the Unionist community from the rest of the UK, consistent with the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement; and also recognises that Article 13(8) of the Protocol provides for potentially superior arrangements to those currently in place.”

And here are the DUP’s “7 tests” outlined by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson for the first time

What follows are extracts from Sir Jeffrey’s speech. The full version from Hansard can be found here.

“For people in Northern Ireland, the political and economic stakes could not be higher, as the protocol presents the greatest ever threat to the economic integrity of the United Kingdom. The rigorous implementation of the protocol that some anti-Brexit parties in Northern Ireland have called for would be bad for consumers and bad for business. It would be socially disruptive, economically ruinous and politically disastrous for Northern Ireland. As Lord Frost has repeatedly pointed out, the Northern Ireland protocol in its present form is unsustainable, and it needs to go.”

“That is why, today, I am setting out seven tests that I believe are important for any new arrangements. Our tests are grounded not in a Unionist wish list, but in promises that have already been made in one form or another to the people of Northern Ireland. It is not too much to ask that the Government stand by these promises.

“First, new arrangements must fulfil the guarantee of the sixth article of the Act of Union 1800. That Act of Union is no ordinary statute; it is the constitutional statute that created the United Kingdom for the people whom I represent. The sixth article essentially requires that everyone in the United Kingdom is entitled to the same privileges and to be on the same footing as to goods in either country and in respect of trade within the United Kingdom. Under the protocol, this is clearly no longer the case. The House will be aware—you made reference to the legal challenge on this point, Madam Deputy Speaker—that the High Court has held that the protocol does not put the people of Northern Ireland on an equal footing with those in the rest of the United Kingdom. In defending their position, the Government lawyers made it clear that the protocol impliedly repeals article 6 of the Act of Union. That is a matter of grave concern to us, and it is a matter that needs to be put right.

“Secondly, any new arrangements must avoid any diversion of trade, and I welcome what has been said already. It is simply not acceptable that consumers and businesses in Northern Ireland are told that they must purchase certain goods from the EU and not from Great Britain. In this regard it is notable that article 16 of the protocol already permits the UK to take unilateral safeguarding measures to ensure that there is no diversion of trade, and the Government must do that.

“Thirdly, it is essential that any new arrangements that are negotiated do not constitute a border in the Irish sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In line with the Act of Union, there should be no internal trade border in the UK. Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market must be fully restored.

Fourthly, new arrangements must give the people of Northern Ireland a say in making the laws that govern them. That guarantee is implicit in article 3 of protocol 1 of the European convention on human rights, which clearly states that where people are subject to laws, they should be able freely to express their opinion on those laws. Northern Ireland does not have that in relation to EU regulations being imposed on it.

Fifthly, new arrangements must result in no checks on goods going from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, or from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister gave that commitment on 8 December 2019, and it should be honoured.”

”Sixthly, new arrangements should ensure that no new regulatory barriers develop between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, unless agreed by the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. That commitment was made in paragraph 50 of the joint report by negotiators from the European Union and the United Kingdom Government in December 2017. Our Government sadly failed to honour that paragraph when they concluded the Northern Ireland protocol. We expect that commitment, which was made by the Government, to be honoured.”

”Seventhly, new arrangements must preserve the letter and the spirit of Northern Ireland’s constitutional guarantee, set out most recently in the Belfast agreement, which requires in advance the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland for any diminution in its status as part of the United Kingdom. Our consent was not sought for the diminution in our status and the repealing of a key element of the Act of Union that changed our status with the Northern Ireland protocol. To reduce the constitutional status to our having a say in the final step of leaving the United Kingdom would mean that, in effect, it is no meaningful guarantee at all. If the constitutional guarantee for Northern Ireland is to have any meaning, it applies not just to the question of whether we are part of a united Ireland or remain in the United Kingdom. The Belfast agreement is clear that it is about any change to the status of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, and our consent was not sought and has most certainly not been given.

“In conclusion, there is no practical or pragmatic reason why arrangements cannot be put in place that satisfy those tests and prove no meaningful threat to the integrity of the EU single market. We require that Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market is restored and we expect that the Government will take steps to do that in line with the previous commitments that they have given, from the Prime Minister down. My party will assess any new arrangements against these seven tests. I hope that for the sake of the integrity of the United Kingdom and the people of Northern Ireland we will not be disappointed.”

[ Sources: DUP | Hansard ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 15 Feb 2023

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