Stormont will have a say on trade across the Irish Sea, so the DUP needs to return says the UK government

In response to criticism from unionists over this year’s deal with the EU to reform the Northern Ireland Protocol, which created a barrier for goods moving between NI and the mainland, the government called on the DUP to restore Stormont.

With that party again calling on London to give reassurance to unionists over their position in the UK, and in the wake of Lord Dodds saying that the framework “utterly fails” to meet the DUP’s seven tests for a resumption of devolution, a spokesperson for Rishi Sunak’s government said: “The Windsor Framework is the best deal for Northern Ireland – restoring the smooth flow of goods with Great Britain and protecting its place in the Union. It cuts paperwork and checks compared to the old protocol, lifts the bans on products like seed potatoes and provides a durable, sustainable basis for the future.”

The government also referred to a report by the House of Lords Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland Committee into the framework last week, which has been cited by unionist critics of the deal because it repeatedly cited possible problems with the framework and urged ministers to clarify its implications for trade.

Without naming the DUP, the government implicitly put pressure on the party when its spokesperson said: “The committee's report underlines the importance of restoring the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly – it sets out at length how restored institutions would give Northern Ireland a greater say over the new arrangements.”

The DUP deputy Leader Gavin Robinson MP has told party supporters in South Belfast: “The prime minister visited Northern Ireland and made commitments during that visit which have never been made a reality. It’s time for delivery. The ball rests at the government’s foot. A growing pile of broken promises by successive prime ministers is part of the problem as trust has been eroded.”He said: “Unionists are being asked to accept infrastructure between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom which nationalists would never have tolerated North-South. Indeed, we had too much respect for our nationalist neighbours to even ask them to accept such arrangements. Its notable that the Sinn Fein leadership had no such respect for unionists. We need stable and sustainable devolved government. Northern Ireland is a divided society. We must get the foundations right.”

Last week, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he expects the UK government to reply over issues of concern he has raised about the framework “in the near future”.