Northern Ireland’s DUP lawmakers to vote against new Brexit deal

NORTHERN Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson on Monday (Mar 20) said that his party’s members of the British parliament would vote against a central element of the government’s deal with Brussels on post-Brexit trade rules later this week.

The parliament will on Wednesday debate and vote on the so-called “Stormont brake”, a key part of an agreement that enables Britain to stop new European Union (EU) laws from applying to goods in Northern Ireland, if requested by a third of lawmakers in the province’s devolved legislature.

“While representing real progress, the ‘brake’ does not deal with the fundamental issue, which is the imposition of EU law by the Protocol,” Donaldson said, referring to a post-Brexit law concerning the movement of goods into Northern Ireland.

“Our party officers... met this morning and unanimously agreed that – in the context of our ongoing concerns and the need to see further progress secured while continuing to seek clarification, change and re-working – our Members of Parliament would vote against the draft statutory instrument.” REUTERS