Any Brexit deal is expected to require democratic consent for Northern Ireland’s continued alignment with the EU’s single market in goods, a conundrum with no obvious solution if Stormont remains mothballed. Robin Swann, the leader of the UUP, called the inability of Northern Ireland’s two biggest parties to share power an abject failure of politics. The gloom in Belfast contrasted with hope in Brussels after British and EU negotiators got the green light to intensify talks to try to hammer out a Brexit deal. Thursday’s meeting between Johnson and his Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, ended with both sides declaring a “pathway” to a possible Brexit deal, suggesting compromise on both issues. Julian Smith, the Northern Ireland secretary, told the BBC there would not be a situation where “one community has a veto” over Brexit plans.

Source: The Guardian October 11, 2019 21:56 UTC