Truss outlines plan to override the Northern Ireland Protocol

There’s a general consensus that the government’s Northern Ireland Protocol bill will result in a fight – the question: who with? When news of the Foreign Secretary’s plan to unilaterally override parts of the protocol agreement first broke, it led to a number of Tory MPs on the One Nation wing speaking out and members of the European Research Group pushing more. There was also concern in Washington and outright rejection in Brussels.

Today the bill has its second reading in the House of Commons giving MPs a chance to air their grievances. Labour were quick to go on the attack: shadow foreign secretary David Lammy accused Liz Truss of reneging on an international agreement and called for the government to focus on negotiation rather than unilateral legislation. This is the same line coming from Brussels – with the EU ambassador to the UK suggesting the government’s plan amounted to an illegal dead end.

Of course, part of the reason the government brought this legislation in the first place (as well as an attempt to get the DUP back to power-sharing at Stormont) is to try to kickstart a negotiation.