27 February 2023 , 22:45
961
0
Whatever you think of Brexit, Rishi Sunak’s brokered a better Northern Ireland deal than Boris Johnson.
Persuading the EU to agree the Stormont Assembly could apply a brake, halting laws from Brussels, is quite an achievement.
Sunak negotiating in good faith promises results beyond the bad faith of Johnson, sweeping away many red tape barriers down an Irish Sea border agreed by the ex-PM.
Both No10 and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen privately calculate the Stormont Brake is unlikely to be pressed under the Windsor Framework, yet its existence is important democratically.
Now is the moment for extreme Brexit MPs in the Tory Party and DUP to embrace the best deal on offer and end the moaning.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Involving the King was a masterstroke by Sunak when the DUP reveres the monarchy.
Sunak’s getting much wrong including taxes, fuel bills and strikes yet this deal makes the best of a bad Brexit for Northern Ireland.
Just grow for it
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said shortages were expected to last a few weeks until the UK growing season begins (PA)Lidl joining Aldi, Asda, Morrisons and Tesco in rationing salad is a sure sign this shortage will last weeks rather than days.
The dirty vehicle at a farm shop with a message on the back saying “no tomatoes kept in van overnight” was a witty warning prices will rise when supply fails to meet demand.
Questions must be asked why the EU and even Ukraine are not suffering food problems as severe as Britain, whatever the impact of Brexit on top of bad weather in Spain.
One answer is to boost UK farming. Security of food, like energy, improves when we produce our own.
One fine dame
From dancing Tiller Girl to first woman Speaker of the House of Commons, Dame Betty Boothroyd was a history maker.
The Labour MP’s no-nonsense style after 700 years of men chairing Parliament debates was the crowning glory of a politician who never forgot her Yorkshire roots.