Ben Lowry: The deal over the Northern Ireland Protocol is unlikely to be one that unionists will like
The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, appeared to be retreating from unveiling agreement with Brussels in light of his inability to sell it to the DUP and Brexiteer Tory MPs.
Had retreat indeed been his intention, Downing Street would maybe have resigned itself to muddling on with extended grace periods until handing the unresolved matter to thenext government.
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Hide AdIt seems that until recently Mr Sunak thought he could secure DUP support. What made him think that? Perhaps he has a remarkable deal up his sleeve. I fear not, though.
My assessment of developments is that gradually the implications of what London conceded long ago, that Northern Ireland will be under EU rules for goods, has dawned on unionism. If Great Britain is outside those rules, the outworkings are almost impossible for even moderate unionists to endorse.
Many people will scold unionists: ‘the game is almost up and you must concede and concede to survive’. Don’t expect unionists to embrace an analysis that so suits Irish nationalists.• Henry McDonald is buried on Tuesday. In the coming days I will write a tribute to our political editor, 57, who died on Sunday. He was only with us a year but we already have precious memories.