Rishi Sunak begs his party to let him ‘finish the job’ — as he rolls the dice on a new deal
RISHI Sunak today declares himself a proud Brexiteer and begs his party to let him “finish the job” — as he rolls the dice on a new deal.
The Prime Minister is calling Cabinet ministers into No10 this morning to brief them on his plan to “fix” the Northern Ireland Protocol.
In his biggest political gamble since taking office, he is expected to unveil his closely-guarded deal to Parliament on Monday.
Bullish Whitehall insiders say Mr Sunak has done what Boris Johnson failed to do by persuading the EU to change the Northern Ireland protocol treaty.
The PM is expected to push ahead with his plan even without the support of the DUP — the Northern Irish party who walked out of power-sharing in the province in fury at the Protocol.
But Tory rebels are sharpening their knives and ready to mutiny over the deal.
Writing in today’s Sun on Sunday, the PM said the protocol “doesn’t work” and is causing a big headache for businesses and locals in Northern Ireland.
He writes: “I am a Brexiteer.
“I campaigned to leave, I voted to leave and there have been so many Brexit benefits already, including being in full control of our tax system to bring down duties paid on things like beer and wine, cutting red tape to attract investment and creating jobs in our booming sectors.
“But the protocol that was put in place just a few years ago doesn’t work and it needs fixing.”
He said the current Brexit deal heaps a mountain of customs checks on trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK — hammering businesses.
And it has left Northern Ireland as rule-takers not rule-makers — governed by EU laws they have no say over, he added.
After weeks of frenzied rumours that a deal has been thrashed out, Mr Sunak is expected to dive in and unveil the details to Parliament.
But he is facing fury from MPs over claims he tried to drag King Charles into politics by lining him up to meet the EU Commission President as talks came to a head.
And all eyes are on the DUP and whether they come out full throttle against the PM’s plan.
If they oppose it, the ERG — the hardline group of Brexit-backing Tory MPs — has vowed to back them and fight it.
DUP MP Ian Paisley told The Sun on Sunday: “If Rishi Sunak’s plan involves keeping any part of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the DUP will not be going back into power-sharing. It’s that simple.”
He added: “This is about more than customs checks, and red or green lanes. It is about who governs in Northern Ireland.
“Who makes the laws we live under — us, or the EU?
“On this point, there must be no surrender.”
Fellow DUP MP Sammy Wilson savaged the PM over the plan, now ditched, for King Charles to meet EU chief Ursula von der Leyen at Windsor.
He said it was a “cynical use or abuse of the King” and an “indicator that [the PM] knows he hasn’t achieved the objectives which he set for himself and fulfilled the promises he made to us.”
Tory MPs in the ERG were gearing up for a fight over the deal.
One warned that the PM is also gambling on his very political career — suggesting he could end up being ousted from No10 over Brexit if the deal flops.
The Tory MP said: “This all has the whiff of Theresa May about it — and look what happened to her.”
A senior Tory Brexiteer said: “The foolish attempt to drag the King into the growing mess surrounding the NI Protocol smacks of desperation.
“Similarly, any attempt to ‘bounce’ Parliament next week is likely to end badly.”
Downing Street has refused to say if the deal needs a binding vote in the Commons for implementation.
No10 is braced for Boris Johnson to lead a rebellion. He has already warned it would be a “great mistake” to drop the NI Protocol Bill, which would give Britain the power to unilaterally ditch the deal if the EU play hardball.
Tonight, a source closed to the former PM said: “No one can make a judgement on the deal until they see it It would be a great mistake to drop the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.”
Once the plan is published, the DUP will meet to deliver their verdict.
The ERG will also assemble its “star chamber” of lawyers to comb through the wording of the legal text.
But they are expected to follow the DUP’s lead in giving it the thumbs up or down.
Labour have said they will back Rishi’s new deal – and will vote for it in the Commons if necessary.
But Tory critics have warned Mr Sunak it would be a grave mistake to get the deal over the line on the back of Labour votes.
James Duddridge, a former Tory Brexit minister, said Mr Sunak is wrong to gamble his political career over the protocol.
He said the PM should instead stick to tackling his top five issues — like stopping the small boats.
He added: “I’m absolutely certain Boris will be back in a big role. Does he want to be PM in the future? Yes.
“But the best way to let that happen now is to back Rishi until the point at which that becomes unsustainable.
“I hope that doesn’t happen before the election. I hoped that with Liz Truss. It ended up lasting six weeks.”
But another Tory MP said most Conservatives do not want to “die in a ditch” over the protocol.
The MP added: “There are your usual suspects who will kick up a fuss, but they’re in the minority.”
Today Irish PM Leo Varadkar said negotiations over a new deal were “inching towards conclusion”.
He added: “I encourage everyone to go the extra mile to come to an agreement because the benefits are huge.”