How have MPs reacted to the new post-Brexit Northern Ireland deal?

Rishi Sunak confirmed on Monday that he had reached a deal with the EU to address problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol.

But after dealing with the press, he was sent to the House of Commons to face two and a half hours of questions from MPs of all stripes about the substance of the deal.

So, what did they think? We look at the main groups grilling the PM.

The Northern Ireland MPs

The leader of the DUP, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, is not ready to either condemn or praise the protocol’s replacement yet.

He told MPs “significant progress has been secured across a number of areas”, but “key issues of concern” remained.

“My party will want to study the detail of what has been published today,” he added, saying it would be compared to the party’s seven tests for an acceptable agreement.

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But Sir Jeffrey told Mr Sunak that “sovereignty is crucial”, so going forward, the government needed to give Northern Ireland assurances there would be no EU laws making trade barriers between NI and the rest of the UK.

His DUP colleague, Jim Shannon, seemed more certain about his position. He said the deal was “about more than solar panels and sausages” – it was about Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.

Mr Shannon spoke out about any involvement of the European courts in laws impacting them, saying “the real power must lie with Westminster not Brussels”.

He added: “The prime minister can strike no deal ever without bringing the majority of unionists on board.

“And to push another deal through this House without unionist buy-in will offer no result other than another failed deal.”

Another DUP MP, Sammy Wilson, described Mr Sunak’s statement to the Commons as “an 18 minute confession… about the damage the [Northern Ireland] Protocol his government signed has done to Northern Ireland”.

And he questioned the so-called Stormont brake – which is designed to allow the Assembly to put a pause on new EU laws and allow the UK government to veto them.

“We don’t have confidence in that,” said Mr Wilson, “and [it is] why we still fear our position in the United Kingdom is not going to be restored.”

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But SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said his concerns about the brake were from a different perspective.

“There has been an awful lot of talk about the concerns of the DUP,” he said.

“But it is important to remember the majority of people in Northern Ireland opposed Brexit and want to see benefits of dual access to [the EU’s single Market] properly utilised.”

His point was echoed by Stephen Farry of the Alliance Party, who worried it could “add more instability” in Northern Ireland if that access is threatened.

The Tories

There were no outright condemnations of the framework from the Tory benches… as yet.

Neither Boris Johnson nor Liz Truss were in the House – though a source close to Mr Johnson told Sky News he “continues to study and reflect on the government’s proposals”.

Sir Edward Leigh came closest, warning that unless the deal got the NI Assembly up and running again “it is pretty futile – indeed it might be downright dangerous”.

He added: “I can assure him many of his colleagues on these benches are watching the DUP very carefully and we will go where they go.”

Theresa May – the first Conservative prime minister to try to negotiate a deal, who was ousted by her own MPs for failing to agree one they liked – congratulated Mr Sunak for the new offer, saying it would “make a huge difference”.

She said the Northern Ireland Protocol – negotiated by her immediate successor Boris Johnson – had been “the European Union’s preferred proposal of a border down the Irish Sea”.

She added: “The best move now is for everybody across this House to support this settlement, because that is what is in the best interests of all the people of Northern Ireland.”

Ex-Brexit secretary and cheerleader of the cause, David Davis, gave his wholehearted support to the framework too.

He offered his “unreserved congratulations” to Mr Sunak, called it a “spectacular success”, and praised the “extraordinary mechanism” of the Stormont brake.

“It was a brilliant piece of negotiation, insight and imagination,” he said.

Andrea Leadsom – another leading campaigner for Brexit – said had this deal been brought forward at any point over the last five years, “those of us who were Brexiteers, Unionists and Remainers would have jumped on it”.

But Sir Bill Cash said “the devil as ever lies in the detail”.

The opposition views

Offering his support for the deal, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told the Commons: “We will not snipe. We will not seek to play political games.

“And when the prime minister puts this deal forward for a vote, Labour will vote for it.”

He said the plan “will never be perfect – it is a compromise”, but he added: “I have always been clear that, if implemented correctly, it is an arrangement that can work in the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.

“And that now it’s been agreed, we all have an obligation to make it work.”

However, Sir Keir did use the opportunity to attack Boris Johnson for having told the public there would be no checks in the Irish Sea under his previous deal, saying the claim was “nonsense”.

“[It was] a point-blank refusal to engage with unionists in Northern Ireland in good faith, never mind take their concerns seriously,” he added. “And it inevitably contributed to the collapse of power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

“And I did wonder after the prime minister listed all the problems if he had forgotten who had negotiated it.

“So, when presenting what this agreement means in practice, I urge the prime minister to be utterly unlike his predecessor.”

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, the SNP MPs were less than impressed with the deal, believing the best thing would be to return to the EU.

“Brexit has been an unmitigated disaster,” said the party’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn.

“And what this deal does not do is create parity across these nations.”

He said Northern Ireland businesses would continue to have access to the EU’s single market, while Scotland would not.

“I do not begrudge Northern Ireland businesses, but I do regret Scotland does not have the same opportunities,” he added.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party needed to study the deal, but welcomed “the spirit of partnership and compromise between the UK government and the European Union” in coming to an agreement.

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