Northern Ireland DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said the party agreed to a deal to return to the Stormont assembly to jointly govern with Sinn Fein. File Photo by Mark Marlow/EPA-EFE
Jan. 30 (UPI) — Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party on Tuesday approved a deal with the government in London to restore the power-sharing administration in the country that has been effectively without a government for almost two years.
The agreement delivered a foundation for the party to end its boycott and return to the Stormont assembly to jointly govern with Sinn Fein, said DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson after a clandestine party caucus that went on into the early hours.
He characterized the deal, which addresses issues the unionist party has with post-Brexit trading arrangements, as a “good outcome” for Northern Ireland but vowed to continue the fight for Northern Ireland to be treated the same as the rest of Britain.
“I think when the detail emerges people will be able to see for themselves just how much progress we have made,” said Donaldson.
The deal would, he said, protect Northern Ireland’s place in the U.K. and its internal market by scrapping Brexit-mandated customs checks on goods from other parts of the U.K. destined for Northern Ireland and bring an “end to Northern Ireland automatically following future EU laws.”
Donaldson stressed the restoration of the executive, which could come as early as Friday was dependent on parliament passing the necessary legislation and final agreement on a timetable.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is expected to lay out details of the deal Wednesday and put it to a House of Commons vote Thursday.
The breakthrough will see Sinn Fein, which won 2022 elections, hold the post of first minister for the first time since direct rule from London ended in 1998 following the Good Friday Agreement that ended the three-decade-long “troubles.”
Sinn Fein will now engage with the parties and both governments to ensure we now all press on without delay,” said party leader Mary Lou McDonald.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, who brokered the deal, pledged to keep his foot on the accelerator to bring it to fruition ahead of a Feb. 8 deadline to get a functioning administration in place
“I now believe that all the conditions are in place for the assembly to return, the parties entitled to form an executive are meeting tomorrow to discuss these matters and I hope to be able to finalize this deal with the political parties as soon as possible,” the minister wrote in a post on X.
The deal still faces possible threats both inside and outside of the party, illustrated by splinter-group demonstrators protesting against it outside Monday night’s meeting.
The evening also featured a dramatic episode in which proceedings of the “secret” meeting were relayed live on X by a mole wearing a wire, said to be a senior figure in the party’s executive.
Sunak has been battling to cajole politicians in Northern Ireland to restart the stalled power-sharing government since taking office in October 2022 but the DUP has until now steadfastly held out.
In February, he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled their Windsor Framework deal, aimed at resolving the post-Brexit trading difficulties thrown up by the Brexit protocol covering Northern Ireland, which was supposed to deal with the problem of the “soft” border with the Irish Republic, which is part of the EU.
Commemorations and festivities to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April saw Sunak joined by U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton, who helped broker the peace deal, in calling for the Stormont Assembly to reconvene.