As the House of Commons prepares to meet on a Saturday for the first time in 37 years, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is about to fall out with the Tories over Brexit.
Speaking ahead of a momentous Commons vote today on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s new Brexit deal, the DUP’s deputy leader said the proposed EU withdrawal deal is “not Brexit for Northern Ireland”.
Nigel Dodds said his party wants a Brexit deal that “works for the whole United Kingdom”.
Boris Johnson has been “too eager” to get a new Brexit deal, Dodds added.
Dodds’s uncompromising statement means that Johnson cannot rely on the DUP’s 10 MPs to ratify his proposed European Union (EU) withdrawal deal.
Dodds made clear that his party’s opposition to the proposed new deal centres on compromises Britain made in relation to the Irish border backstop, which has been the main obstacle to agreeing a deal since March.
“Our clear position is that we could not support a deal which puts a customs border down the Irish Sea – that’s always been clear from day one”, Dodds said.
Formed in 1971, the DUP is the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland. Following the 2017 UK general election, the DUP entered into a parliamentary alliance with the Tories to shore up their minority government.