DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is set to make a huge offer to the Government as long as it is willing to undo its biggest Brexit mistake.
Express.co.uk has seen an extract of a major speech tomorrow by the leader of Northern Ireland’s biggest protestant party which opens the door to long-delayed power sharing.
But the condition will be to take on the EU and guarantee Northern Ireland’s place in the UK single market.
The speech will come at an event hosted by the Centre for Brexit Policy (CBP) think tank which is due to unveil a comprehensive report on Northern Ireland and the EU’s power grab.
The report, supported by Sir Jeffrey, is set to suggest a checking system “mutual” where the UK and EU agree to ensure that products coming from their sides meet each other regulations and compliance rules.
The system will mean that there is no longer a need for borders across the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the UK mainland.
The CBP is supported by senior Brexiteer MPs including former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and former Brexit minister David Jones, who is currently deputy chairman of the European Research Group (ERG) of Tory Brexiteer MPs.
In his speech, Sir Jeffrey will say: “We want to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly on a basis that unionists, as well as nationalists, can support.
“We need stable and sustainable devolved government. Northern Ireland is a divided society. We must get the foundations right.”
But he will warn: “Progress is only made in Northern Ireland based on consensus. For those who have forgotten, political progress in Northern Ireland was hard won and is built on the support of unionists and nationalists.”
In a direct challenge to Rishi Sunak’s Windsor Framework Agreement and Protocol, he will note: “Not one unionist MLA supported the Protocol, that was the critical mistake.
“There is no solid basis for an Executive and Assembly until we have arrangements that protect NI’s place in the UK internal market and our constitutional arrangements are respected.
“Thus we will continue to engage with the UK Government in the short term to secure the necessary conditions for a return to Stormont.
“We welcome the publication of this report by the Centre for Brexit Policy as an important contribution to the debate on future arrangements with the EU.
“We have been clear throughout that the concept of mutual enforcement is worthy of serious consideration in terms of delivering a longer term solution.”
He will add: The objective of the DUP remains that of restoring and protecting Northern Ireland’s rightful place in the UK Internal Market and to future proof this against potential divergence from the laws that regulate that internal market.”
