Member

Underlying this, of course, is the problem of the so-called Windsor Framework, which is simply an agreement reached within the Northern Ireland protocol. I would remind the House that the Northern Ireland protocol, when it was negotiated, was specifically identified as intrinsically temporary. When I raised the question of why we could not negotiate simultaneously a trade agreement and a withdrawal agreement, the EU said, “No, you must negotiate withdrawal first and trade subsequently”. But you have to include trade with Northern Ireland inside the withdrawal agreement. Even though, constitutionally, Article 50 did not give the EU real power to enter into a permanent trade arrangement under Article 50, it could do so temporarily to ease the problems that would exist once we left and before we had a full, comprehensive trade agreement.