Deal to bring back Stormont powersharing a ‘con trick’, Hoey tells peers

A deal struck between the DUP and the Government which led to the restoration of powersharing at Stormont has been branded a “con trick” in Parliament.

Baroness Hoey, a Northern Irish Brexit supporter and former Labour MP, warned “the glitter will fall away” in the near future and there would be “a political cost to pay”.

The non-affiliated peer proposed a so-called regret motion to make a humble address to the King, drawn up as part of the arrangement, because “we should be telling him the truth”.

Lady Hoey was backed by former DUP deputy leader Lord Dodds of Duncairn, who accused the Government of engaging in “an all-out PR operation” and of being “economical with the reality”.

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It puts him at odds with party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who has said the deal he reached addressed problems with post-Brexit trade arrangements in Northern Ireland, which had led to a two-year DUP boycott of devolved government.

But critics argue an Irish Sea border remains, with the region still subject to EU rules, which means it being treated differently to the rest of the UK – a major source of contention to the unionist community.

Accusing Sir Jeffrey of a U-turn, Lady Hoey said: “He clearly wanted to get the assembly back and that is fair enough but you do that by being honest and straight-forward with people and not trying to do a deal with the Government to produce words like this (in the humble address) that are actually meaningless.”

She added: “I really want to get it on the parliamentary record that I and others here have not engaged in what I have to say is a con trick, for that is what it is.

“In the weeks and months ahead we will see all of this, the glitter will fall away.”

“There will be a political cost to pay.”

Lady Hoey told peers: “EU law continues. It is law we did not make and cannot change.

“The only thing that has changed over the last year is the views of the DUP leadership, who now seem to accept all these facts and have returned to Stormont to implement them.

“If we are going to address His Majesty the King then I say we should be telling him the truth.”

Lord Dodds said: “It’s because we value the union so much that I come to today’s debate with such a sense of concern. The humble address before the House today is part of the reassurance package promised by the Government to unionists in the deal.

“But the reality is that the deal … still retains the protocol Windsor Framework with all its inherent anti-unionist contents.

“This is where words collide with reality. Where propaganda collides with facts.

“There is nothing in this humble address that actually changes anything in relation to Northern Ireland or which undoes the damage done to our constitutional position as part of the United Kingdom by the protocol.”

He added: “What is going on at the present time is a full-blown concerted effort by the Government to paint a one-sided picture of real events as far as the Windsor Framework is concerned. There’s an all-out PR operation to put the most favourable gloss on the operation of its provisions.

“The Government appears embarrassed to set out the unpalatable truths so it’s economical with the reality and hopes people won’t notice.”

Lord Dodds went on: “We have (been) uniquely disenfranchised and we need to ensure that those wrongs are put right as soon as possible.”

But Labour former Northern Ireland secretary Lord Murphy of Torfaen said: “Ultimately, it’s compromise. The Good Friday Agreement was a compromise, but we had to do it for it to get through. No one can get everything they want.”

Northern Ireland Office minister Lord Caine said: “There is no trade border by any reasonable or sensible comparison with any other trade border in the world for goods moving within the UK internal market.”

He added: “We are confident that the new arrangements will work to ensure the smooth passage of trade throughout the United Kingdom.”

During the debate, many peers paid tribute to Tory former MP Lord Cormack, who died at the weekend, who had chaired the Commons Northern Ireland Select Committee.