The government’s decision not to activate the so-called Stormont brake has been described as “wrong” and “utter foolishness” by the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), backed by the other unionist parties, had asked London to use the post-Brexit mechanism to stop amended EU rules on the packaging and labelling of chemicals to come into effect in Northern Ireland.
But Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has told politicians that the threshold for activating the Stormont brake, which can be used to object to European rules applying in Northern Ireland, had not been met.
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In a letter to the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly Edwin Poots, Mr Benn said that the rules on chemical packaging did not meet the bar of having a “significant impact specific to everyday life of communities in Northern Ireland in a way that is liable to persist”.
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The “brake”, which was part of the landmark post-Brexit deal between the UK and EU known as the Windsor Framework, was designed to give local politicians more influence over any updated EU rules applying in Northern Ireland, and was seen as a concession to unionists who opposed the deal.
Ireland correspondent
Ask people in Northern Ireland what their top issues are, and it’d be safe to say the way chemicals are labelled would not greatly feature.
But that was the pretext for unionists to try to get the Stormont brake pulled for the first time. It’s hard to know how confident they were in London saying yes, but they won’t let this rejection stop any future attempts.
It may have faded from the news agenda, but the fallout of post-Brexit trade arrangements still rankle among unionists, and indeed some in the business community.
If the brake had been pulled, there would have been unprecedented and intensive talks between the UK and EU, and possibly a vote on the rules applying in Stormont.
It would undoubtedly have torn the scab off some of the old Brexit wounds, at a time when Sir Keir Starmer’s government has much more pressing matters to attend to.
It didn’t happen this time…but it’s unlikely unionists will be deterred from trying again in the future.
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Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland continues to follow EU rules on goods, which many unionists think diminishes Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.
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Reacting to the government’s “wrong” refusal to pull the brake, the DUP leader Gavin Robinson said: “The secretary of state’s decision to ignore publicly presented evidence from industry representatives about the updated EU law on chemical labelling is a grave mistake that will exacerbate trade friction between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”
“There are elected representatives in parliament and the NI Assembly who close their eyes to the impact divergence is and will have. This is utter foolishness.
“Our job is to stand up for Northern Ireland.”
