Debate contribution: Windsor Framework: Ongoing Harm

Debate contribution by Dr Steve Aiken OBE on 17 November 2025.

MLA

Dr Steve Aiken OBE

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

17 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Windsor Framework: Ongoing Harm

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5245223

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I declare an interest, both as a member of the Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee and as someone opposed to then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's official recommendations, which evolved into the so-called Stormont brake. It is just a pity that Rishi Sunak and the Prime Minister after him did not listen to the rest of our party's advice. For the avoidance of doubt to some, our party supported Remain. We voted Remain precisely because we envisaged the chaos and damage to our economy that has occurred. We pointed out time and again that Brexit was never the best of both worlds; rather, it was the worst of both systems on steroids. That is also why the UUP opposed the protocol and then the Windsor framework when it was imposed. We did so because they were deeply flawed instruments that were drafted to solve UK and EU dilemmas rather than problems with Northern Ireland trade. Northern Ireland was and remains a bargaining chip in UK-EU relations. The words "faithful implementation" are the genesis of the problem that we now face, which is the rigorous implementation of the entire acquis communautaire of the European Journal's rule book that applies, in its broadest interpretation, to Northern Ireland. It is the implementation of rules that many EU members, including our Irish neighbours, do not even bother to implement rigorously unless they are forced to. Those rules, which spread well beyond trade issues, impact on everyday life here. There is a huge democratic deficit in which, despite all the Windsor framework spin, our Assembly has absolutely no say. Safeguards, such as our ability to pray against legislative consent motions pertaining to EU regulations, do not work, because we are not even informed of them in time, never mind the fact that our vote counts for nothing. The Stormont brake and the grossly misnamed Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee have failed. Lord Murphy's view on membership of the Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee, which he gave to the Economy Committee, is well worth a read. I encourage everybody here to read it.

We have been told that many of our problems will be settled by the UK-EU reset, but, despite the hype last week that sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) talks were commencing, some Ministers have made it clear that it will be 2027 at the earliest before any agreement can be made. Anyone with even the faintest understanding of EU's relations with other countries will know that that is a highly ambitious timescale. What is to be done? If the Government believe that they have been a faithful throughout, it is time to use the provisions in the protocol to stop any further damage. If our Government really believe that the EU is a faithful and not a traitor, they should activate article 16 of the protocol to protect article 6(2) on protecting our internal UK market. If there really is faith between the UK and the European Union and if the protection of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement really is central to those relations, pausing the implementation of further provisions of the EU acquis until all is solved by the UK-EU reset and the SPS community should be straightforward. The evidence of hard damage to companies —.

I definitely agree, and I thank the Member very much for reading the last part of my speech. Principal Deputy Speaker, you will be glad to know that I will not repeat it. There is a key point: we are fewer than 50 days from there being real problems for our agriculture sector. Our party has pointed that out for the past year, yet we have still not reached a resolution on it. Government Ministers have basically said, "Suck it up", because they want to be seen as being faithful implementers, even though it will do real damage to the Northern Ireland agriculture sector. That is unacceptable. The evidence of hard damage being done to our companies and to the UK internal market from divergence in trade is abundantly clear. We need our Government to have the will to act, because, frankly, the Europeans do not really care about Northern Ireland. They want to see agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union about things such as defence. We have an opportunity to solve the problem, and we have, in the protocol, the processes to do so. I therefore call on Labour and the Secretary of State to get off their proverbials and do something. Let them do it. More important, we support the motion.

757 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:48 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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