​Editorial: Lords committee exposes difficulties and confusion over Windsor Framework again

​Its concern this time was ‘regulatory divergence’: the potential for rules on goods and trade here, which are largely determined by the EU, to differ from those in the rest of the UK.

The committee heard evidence from various Brussels-friendly lobbyists and so its letter reflected their vague claims that being cut off from our national economy might result in ‘opportunities and benefits’ (which are never properly specified or explained). The meat of the document, though, raised the actual worries and problems faced by businesses, whose most significant external market by far is Great Britain.

The committee asked Lord Cameron how the government intends to monitor divergence. It made the assertion that ‘some Great Britain-based businesses may stop selling into Northern Ireland’ altogether.

It asked the minister to address concerns that companies here will be at a competitive disadvantage compared to their mainland equivalents, because they must follow EU rather than British standards.

The letter also reflected a range of concerns about a lack of information on the framework, as well as bewilderment about who firms should contact when they experience trouble.

Unionists who speak out forthrightly against the sea border and point out that the framework offered few solutions are frequently mocked and derided. It is insinuated that they are either imagining problems or that the situation is their fault.

Whenever Rishi Sunak’s deal is the focus, though, rather than the people who are opposing it, it is exposed as fraught with difficulties and confusion.