Wilson: My Brexit euphoria is tinged with sadness over NI deal

Staunch DUP Brexiteer Sammy Wilson has said that his “euphoria” at leaving the EU tomorrow night is “tinged with sadness” because of the nature of the exit deal struck by Boris Johnson.
By Adam Kula
Published 30th Dec 2020, 20:25 BST
Sammy WilsonSammy Wilson
Sammy Wilson

The East Antrim MP was one of all eight DUP members to reject the government’s new trade accord with the EU today, alongside the SNP, Lib Dems and a handful of others; their No votes were just symbolic, however, because the government – as predicted – comfortably won the backing of MPs by a landslide.

Even hardline Tories such as Mark Francois, the leader of the European Research Group, ended up backing Mr Johnson.

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Mr Wilson said that the overall package of agreements with the EU mean that Northern Ireland “will still be subject to some EU laws made in Brussels; that those laws will be adjudicated by the European Court of Justice; and that there will be barriers to internal trade within the UK between Northern Ireland and GB... GB companies are indicating that they will no longer supply to Northern Ireland”.

But he went on to add: “Having said that, Northern Ireland will still be part of the UK...

“A wedge can only be driven into the Union when the people of Northern Ireland decide that they no longer wish to remain part of the UK.

“When it comes to a choice between joining the Irish Republic — a small nation which will bob about in the future storms of economic chaos—and being anchored to the fifth-largest economy in the world, which will prosper under Brexit, I believe that that choice will be an easy one for the people of Northern Ireland.”

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Whilst the trade deal which MPs backed helps to reduce some checks which are needed on goods entering NI from GB (by axing tariffs and quotas), the NI Retail Consortium has warned that retailers still face “many new checks and costs” from January 1.

Read more on Brexit from this reporter:

Click here: Major UK retailer Dunelm halts home deliveries to NI sparking Brexit speculation

Click here: IN FULL: DUP spurn Brexit deal ‘on point of principle’ and will vote it down on Wednesday

Click here: GB-to-NI potato blockade ‘will hurt quality of Ulster chip shops’

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Click here: Ian Paisley: Unionists need to drop wrist-slashing pessimism over Brexit

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