Northern Ireland unionists signal deal on post-Brexit trade is near

Northern Ireland’s biggest unionist party has given its clearest signal to date that talks with London on post-Brexit trade arrangements are nearing a deal, intensifying hopes the Stormont executive could soon be restored.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, said “significant progress” had been made in recent weeks.

While outstanding issues remained, he told BBC Radio Ulster on Thursday that “undoubtedly we’re approaching the time when we will be able to . . . perhaps come to some decisions”.

Donaldson toppled Stormont in February 2022, saying the Brexit customs border in the Irish Sea undermined Northern Ireland’s place in the UK and its ability to trade with Britain.

As months of bilateral talks have inched along, Northern Ireland has sunk into a deepening budget crisis that prompted London this week to put a £2.5bn financial package on the table, conditional upon Stormont’s return.

Donaldson declined to say whether a Brexit agreement could come before Westminster rises on Tuesday for the holidays and stressed that the final stages of negotiations could be the most challenging.

But he added: “I haven’t come this far to plan for failure.”

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was ready to amend legislation to “protect Northern Ireland’s integral place in the UK and the UK internal market” and could do so “at pace” if Stormont was restored.

In talks at Hillsborough Castle this week, Northern Ireland’s political parties all rejected London’s £2.5bn package as too low. Given the deterioration in public services, they stressed that unless there was enough funding to meet the region’s needs, Stormont risked collapsing again.

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, on Wednesday night extended the talks into the coming days but set no deadline.

“A number of points have been raised which require further clarification, including the need for firmer proposals from the parties for how a restored executive plans to deliver the transformation of public services,” he said.

Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the nationalist Sinn Féin party that is the largest on both sides of the Irish border, said on Wednesday evening that the “moment of truth” for the DUP to decide to return to Stormont had arrived.

Andrew Muir of the Alliance Party summed up the frustration of other parties, telling Donaldson: “In the name of God, take a decision.”