Downing Street has hit back at Brexiteers who were critical of the Government’s new deal with the EU on Northern Ireland. The European Research Group called the Stormont Brake – which is a key part of the Government’s Brexit deal – “practically useless”. But the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “Clearly we don’t accept that characterisation”.
The official explained: “The brake addresses the democratic deficit and provides a clear democratic safeguard for the people of Northern Ireland.
“It goes further than the July 2021 command paper and the Bill, ends the ratchet of automatic presumption of dynamic alignment, it puts the arrangements in Northern Ireland under a new framework of democratic control.
“It covers all the rules that could cause issues for Northern Ireland and is a matter for the UK alone, with no role for the European Union in deciding when the brake is used or agreeing whether the rule is disapplied.”
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