Rishi Sunak chose a historic building with royal links in the shadow of Windsor Castle to announce his landmark deal aimed at breaking the Northern Ireland Protocol deadlock on Monday, alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The UK Prime Minister hailed the pact, fittingly called the Windsor Framework, as a “decisive breakthrough” in the political stalemate that has led to Northern Ireland being without a government since last year.
The leaders unveiled details of their much-anticipated agreement in the Council Chamber of Windsor Guildhall, a room adorned with elaborate portraits of British royals including the late Queen Elizabeth II, her father King George VI and husband Prince Philip. In 2005, the then-Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, who became Duchess of Cornwall, at the same venue in a civil ceremony.
While Ms von der Leyen’s visit to the Berkshire town drew attention from tourists who had turned up expecting to see nothing more than Windsor Castle, No 10’s choice of venue sat uneasy with some voices in British politics. The decision to use the area long associated with the monarchy may be interpreted by critics as the government dragging King Charles III into politics.
The golden rule of the British constitution is that members of the royal family should be kept out of political matters, so the decision for Ms Von der Leyen to have tea with the king moments after announcing the historic deal ruffled feathers.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Sunak's government had drawn criticism for recommending that the king meet Ms von der Leyen — even before the Protocol deal had been announced or indeed passed through Parliament. The timing was labelled as “crass” by Arlene Foster, former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). She warned that the one-to-one meeting would “go down very badly” in Northern Ireland. A Buckingham Palace representative said: “The king is pleased to meet any world leader if they are visiting Britain and it is the government’s advice that he should do so."
At the press conference to announce he had clinched a post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister drew a smile from his guest when he said negotiations between the UK and the EU had "not always been easy”.
But he insisted his treaty with Brussels marked "a turning point for the people of Northern Ireland” and honoured the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.
Ms von der Leyen, who twice referred to her host as “dear Rishi”, displayed an attitude towards the Conservative leader that was noticeably warmer than her approach to his predecessors, most notably Boris Johnson.
"I believe we can now open a new chapter in our partnership, a stronger EU-UK relationship, standing as close partners, shoulder-to-shoulder now and in the future," she said.
An EU official told journalists that since Mr Sunak assumed office in October, “the mood has become much better and our work has become more constructive”.
Mr Sunak confirmed MPs would get a chance to vote on the deal, which he was due to outline to the House of Commons on Monday evening.
UK and EU strike post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland - in pictures
The agreement represents the first major achievement for Mr Sunak's government and comes at a time when the Tory party is trailing Labour in opinion polls.
Keen to get his package through Parliament, Mr Sunak will scrap his predecessor’s controversial legislation to override parts of his own Protocol deal, and in turn the EU will end its legal action against the UK.
Under the deal, a system of "red and green lanes" for trade will be established that will cut red tape for goods moving from the UK to Northern Ireland, Mr Sunak explained.
A new "Stormont Brake" will give the Northern Ireland Assembly a say over EU single market rules being applied to the province.
This means the UK could block European laws at the assembly's request in what the EU said would be "the most exceptional circumstances".
In return, the UK is conceding that European judges will have the final say over the rules — potentially crossing a red line for some MPs.
It remains to be seen if the DUP will support the agreement. Unionist politicians have for months been digging their heels in against pressure to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland in protest over the Protocol, which they argue undermines the region’s place within the UK.
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson rejected suggestions his party had backed the deal shortly before it was publicly announced, stressing that “we’ll take our time to consider the detail and measure a deal against our seven tests”. He later said “significant progress” had been made but “there remain key issues of concern”.
The possibility of a revolt of Tory Brexiteers against the Windsor Framework is another obstacle the Prime Minister will be hoping to avoid.
While his deal could pass through Parliament with the help of Labour MPs, who have indicated their intention to support it, it would look bad for Mr Sunak if he had to rely on opposition votes to make it law.
While Mr Sunak pledged his deal would restore smooth trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, protect the region’s place in the Union and safeguards its sovereignty, pundits will have to wait to see if the Windsor Framework will be enough to heal divisions. The collapse of power-sharing following last year’s May elections brought underlying disunity between Nationalist and Unionist communities to the surface.
Last week’s shooting of an off-duty police officer in Omagh, claimed by dissident republican group the New IRA, highlighted the fragility of peace in Northern Ireland. The non-fatal attack was mentioned by Mr Sunak and Ms von der Leyen in their addresses in Windsor. Mr Sunak said "those trying to drag us back to the past will never succeed", while the Commission leader said her thoughts were with the victim's family and friends.
Pressure had been mounting on Mr Sunak to strike a deal with Brussels ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April. The historic deal signed by Tony Blair and then-Irish taoiseach Bertie Ahern helped to bring an end to a period of violence in Northern Ireland known as ‘The Troubles’.
Mr Ahern told The National last month that compromise on both sides was needed to make the 1998 deal possible and a similar approach would be needed by the UK and the EU to break the Protocol deadlock.
Mr Sunak will be hoping his deal achieves precisely that.
