Hallelujah

[ichkeria]

https://news.sky.com/story/dup-agrees-deal-with-uk-government-to-restore-devolved-parliament-to-northern-ireland-13059737

Is this too good to be true?

No paper checks on goods between NI and GB? Billions of pounds for NI?

Above all the restoration of devolution and historically the first ever nationalist government leader for N Ireland

[davebro3]

They've said it's conditional on parliament enacting the appropriate legistlation so even if they do go back in the expectation that that will happen it may not last.

[THECORBYLOON]

The way I read it, the legislation has to be passed before the DUP will return to Stormont

[Old_Geezer]

As far as I can tell, the Irish Sea border still exists and the idea revoves around a name change for the GB/NI trade channel. If so it's clearly just a sell out of the NI citizens to the demands of the EU. Doubt I'd be happy about that were I living in NI.

[Khandro]

Good news - for now, but as always, whenever an Irish problem is solved the Irish come up with another problem.

Lloyd George said something to that effect. Anyway, let us hope.

[royfromaus]

Nationalist or globalist?

[THECORBYLOON]

"On Wednesday, the government will publish what is known as a command paper laying out what has been agreed. The deal will also be published.

Expect the fine print to be pored over by opponents.

The legislation is expected to pass all stages in Westminster on Thursday and the assembly will sit on Friday or Saturday to elect a speaker."

[ichkeria]

"Good news - for now, but as always, whenever an Irish problem is solved the Irish come up with another problem."

Very true Khandro, if I was a voter in NI I'd be pushing for elections and a chance to punish the people who've held the country to ransom for the last 23 years. Won't happen though. I think this is the way back though. You can't have Brexit + seamless customs between NI and both Ireland and GB but this needs to be sorted. In fairness to Donaldson, when you have a member of your party's executive wiring himself up at a meeting to leak proceedings as they happen to a party activist, it shows the sort of people who he's had to try to win round

[ichkeria]

"The last 23 months" 

[douglas9401]

Two years off with pay, nice gig.

[youngmafbog]

Bit early to tell, but its a positive step.

[Hymie]

Yet another reason (if there weren’t enough already) to re-join the EU – problem solved.

[youngmafbog]

Hymie, you do realise if we did join the EU the terms would be atrocious, and you would have to have the Euro?

[Hymie]

You just need me to negotiate the terms; the UK as a net contributor to the EU, I’d be in a strong negotiating position – and don’t forget Poland agreed to adopt the Euro when they joined 20 years ago, and are showing no sign of doing, at all.

[youngmafbog]

//You just need me to negotiate the terms//

Hahahaha. You dont negotiate with the EU, that is why many of us wanted to go.

And Poland isnt the UK.  If I am honest I think one of the reasons the Euro isnt so great is becasue we didnt join and I am sure the EU know that.  So that would be non negotiable.

[New Judge]

"Is this too good to be true?"

I quite confident it's true. The reports seem confident enough that it will happen.

Whether or not it is good at all (let alone too good)  depends on your point of view. I believe that devolution  was one of the biggest mistakes that any UK government could have made. This is particularly so with NI, where the model which includes "power sharing" has led to the devolved government being out of commission for more than 9 years of its 35 year existence and for more than two-thirds of the last seven years.

"You can't have Brexit + seamless customs between NI and both Ireland..."

You can. All it needs is a UK government with the courage of its convictions to announce that since neither the UK government nor the Irish government want a hard border on the island of Ireland and since it is only the EU that wants it, the EU can be left to make the necessary arrangements. Quite how they would do this is anybody's guess since they have no authority to impose border controls in Ireland, but that's their problem. Meanwhile, the UK government should simply announce that there will be no restrictions or controls whatsoever over the movement of goods between any parts of the United Kingdom.

[ichkeria]

All very well in NJ land. What you think is possible and what is actually possible are miles apart. If it was that easy it would  have happened ages ago  

 

[youngmafbog]

It is as easy as that Ick, the problem is the ones who dont wnt to make it easy.  The Hymies of the world.

[Khandro]

//The Hymies of the world.//

OMG, is there more that one ?

[Khandro]

than

[ichkeria]

Hymie? Since when was Hymie involved? I must have missed something.

Anyway, lets hope it's the start of something positive. maybe we'll get some action on the slow poisoning of Lough Neagh apart from anything else.