Tory Eurosceptics could take TWO WEEKS to decide on NI Brexit deal

Tory Eurosceptics could take TWO WEEKS to decide whether to back Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal for Northern Ireland – as DUP dithers and Boris Johnson ‘won’t vote against’

• Rishi Sunak is pushing his new Northern Ireland Brexit deal struck with the EU 

Tory Eurosceptics could take two weeks to decide whether to back Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland.

The ERG bloc of Conservative MPs has convened a ‘star chamber’ to sift through the legal text the PM has thrashed out with the EU.

But a meeting of the group last night was told the team is likely to take at least a fortnight to analyse the Windsor Framework – meaning that key votes could happen before it reaches a conclusion.

The lack of any immediate pushback from the Tory Brexit wing is a significant boost for Mr Sunak, as the DUP considers whether to get on board with the plans and resume powersharing at Stormont. 

The premier has warned unionist leader Jeffrey Donaldson, who was a guest at the ERG meeting, that the package cannot be renegotiated, and will go ahead regardless of whether he approves.

There are also claims that Boris Johnson has decided he will not oppose the blueprint, which brings Northern Ireland back under UK tax rules, wipes out most checks in the Irish Sea, and introduces a ‘Stormont Brake’ on new EU laws.

Rishi Sunak (pictured on a visit to Northern Ireland yesterday) received a warm reception as he addressed the powerful Tory 1922 Committee last night

The ERG bloc of Conservative MPs headed by Mark Francois (left) has convened a ‘star chamber’ to sift through the legal text the PM has thrashed out with the EU. Mr Sunak has warned unionist leader Jeffrey Donaldson (right), who was a guest at the ERG meeting, that the package cannot be renegotiated

The former PM is said to recognise that feeling in the Conservative Party is behind the deal. 

However, former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost has questioned how much fundamental change has been achieved.  

Mr Sunak received a warm reception as he addressed the powerful Tory 1922 Committee last night, telling the MPs: ‘If I had stood here a few months ago and told you that we would get the EU to reopen the treaty text and rewrite it, you would have thought that I had had more than a Coca-Cola.’

The PM also warned his critics that failure to back his Northern Ireland Brexit deal could see the Conservatives hammered at the next election.

Failing to settle the long-running saga would mean ‘voters will begin to doubt our ability to deliver’ any political change, he said.

Mr Sunak insisted the DUP will be given ‘time and space’ to study the detail of the Windsor Framework. There are likely to be a series of votes to implement the deal, although the timings are unclear. 

The comments were echoed outside the meeting by Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker, who said: ‘This [deal] is what is available… it really wouldn’t be sensible to drop it and go back on it.’

The ERG met separately after the 1922 session, with chairman Mark Francois saying: ‘We hope to have something within around about a fortnight, but if it takes longer than that, then it takes longer than that.’

Former Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke added: ‘It takes time. It is a complex process. There have been improvements but there are also big questions, that’s why we need the experts.’

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