Parties should stop the sabre rattling and get at centre of Brexit’s economic benefits

Royal Assent has been approved for Parliament’s decision to implement Brexit and so endorse the will of 350,000 people in Northern Ireland who voted with the UK majority to leave the European Union.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Jan 2020, 09:43 BST
A handout image issued by 10 Downing Street of an advert which is part of the Government's new "GREAT 'Ready to Trade'" campaign which will launch the day after Brexit in 17 cities across 13 countries outside the EU as the UK seeks to build future trading relationships.A handout image issued by 10 Downing Street of an advert which is part of the Government's new "GREAT 'Ready to Trade'" campaign which will launch the day after Brexit in 17 cities across 13 countries outside the EU as the UK seeks to build future trading relationships.
A handout image issued by 10 Downing Street of an advert which is part of the Government's new "GREAT 'Ready to Trade'" campaign which will launch the day after Brexit in 17 cities across 13 countries outside the EU as the UK seeks to build future trading relationships.

Assuming there is an orderly Brexit at the end of this month and the transition period is successfully complete by the end of the year, Northern Ireland must position itself to be at the centre of the government’s Brexit fulcrum.

Rather than sabre rattling with blunt edges, you would think that having just reinstated themselves into Executive office the five parties would have prioritised the potential benefits of the outworking from Brexit. Instead they passed a Stormont motion condemning and rejecting in their entirety the government’s EU withdrawal arrangements. A collective decision by a coalition which is far from 100% on Northern Ireland’s side.

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It was not the most auspicious leadership considering in recent days the IMF and PWC, in separate reports, cited that over the next two years the UK’s economy will outperform all major EU economies in the Eurozone. These two powerhouse forecasters predicted that the UK would be an increasingly attractive place to invest. A welcome opportunity therefore for the Executive to link into and seek obvious benefits from wanting a share of the action.

Letters to editorLetters to editor
Letters to editor

There has to be an injection of urgency into exploring and defining with the government all positive aspects implicated in the withdrawal agreement and to utilise expert analysis of our position in preparing for the Brexit end game resulting from the final deal on trade arrangements.

Northern Ireland needs to engage with its UK partners and to win friends and influence the decision takers. The appointment of a Brexit Minister should be made now. A trouble shooter, wheeler dealer capable of maximising our potential to investors. A non aligned party political outsider, working with the Executive to establish and deliver clarity plus expectations. A person with the skills to assist the Assembly and Executive who comprehends the full nuances of Brexit and outline the exceptional prospects available to all business interests here. A Brexit minister willing to fight our corner and deliver prosperity .

We have some of the best and well respected business brains in the world. It would be an opportunity missed, indeed scandalous, not to recruit one of their number and give him or her a leading role in our Brexit negotiations with the government. Needs must and sound sense demands practical and political investment cover for Northern Ireland within a changing and exciting UK.

David McNarry

Newtownards

Related topics:Northern IrelandBrexitEuropean UnionParliament