{"id":195864,"date":"2025-12-17T04:35:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T04:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/195864\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T04:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T04:35:13","slug":"unionists-hit-out-as-government-accepts-windsor-framework-review-recommendations-and-business-organisations-hail-positive-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/195864\/","title":{"rendered":"Unionists hit out as Government accepts Windsor Framework review recommendations and business organisations hail \u2018positive\u2019 step"},"content":{"rendered":"

Figures from all three main unionist parties took aim at Westminster following recommendations from the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework, which they argued fails to address the fundamental “damage\u201d caused by the Irish Sea border.<\/p>\n

It places Northern Ireland effectively within the EU in terms of trade rules to avoid a hard land border with the Republic of Ireland. As a result, goods moving from Great Britain and Northern Ireland require checks and customs paperwork.<\/p>\n

The criticism comes despite ministers in London hailing the move as a major step forward and local business bodies including the NI Chamber and Horticultural Trades Association welcoming the development.<\/p>\n

The Government confirmed on Tuesday that it had accepted in full the findings of the review led by former Northern Ireland Secretary Lord Murphy of Torfaen, which followed the December 2024 democratic consent vote in the Assembly.<\/p>\n

The Government said the response would help smooth trade within the UK internal market, strengthen scrutiny of EU regulations at Stormont and provide enhanced support for businesses, including a new \u2018one stop shop\u2019 advice service and further promotion of Northern Ireland\u2019s dual market access.<\/p>\n

However, unionist leaders said the announcement amounted to little more than “tinkering around the edges\u201d of a framework they argue continues to undermine Northern Ireland\u2019s place in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

\"Gavin<\/p>\n

Gavin Robinson<\/p>\n

The Ulster Unionist Party\u2019s Steve Aiken said the Government\u2019s acceptance of the review was \u201cwelcome, but only cautiously so\u201d, warning that it fell far short of resolving the real-world problems already facing businesses and consumers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is encouraging, albeit indirectly, that His Majesty\u2019s Government, the Secretary of State Hilary Benn, and other \u2018faithful implementers\u2019 now acknowledge that the Windsor Framework is far from delivering the \u2018best of both worlds,\u2019\u201d Dr Aiken said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSignificant mitigations will have to be put in place to minimise the impact of the Irish Sea border. But to pretend that these sensible proposals fix the problem is na\u00efve.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the consequences of the framework were already being felt, adding: \u201cBusinesses and consumers are facing real challenges. Major retailers like Amazon increasingly refuse deliveries, while serious issues remain with veterinary medicines, new vehicles, parcel charges and heightened HMRC scrutiny from 1 January.<\/p>\n

“The so-called \u2018gift\u2019 of the Windsor Framework feels more like the work of the Grinch than Santa.\u201d<\/p>\n

TUV leader Jim Allister was even more blunt, dismissing both the Murphy Review and the Government\u2019s response as \u201cshallow and of no meaningful impact\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Murphy Review was subject to a nationalist veto, as it was allowed only to recommend what would have cross-community support,\u201d Mr Allister said. \u201cHence, it was never going to change the Union-dismantling fundamentals of the Protocol, despite those being renewed in December 2024 by the removal of the need for cross-community Assembly support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/p>\n

Steve Aiken<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cSo, a response to nothing unsurprisingly amounts to nothing. Another \u00a35m per annum to enforce the partitioning Irish Sea border is no source of joy for business, nor unionists.\u201d<\/p>\n

DUP leader Gavin Robinson MP said the Government\u2019s approach would leave the core problems untouched, despite accepting the review in full.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrowing more money at the problem and giving MLAs more time to consider harmful EU laws after the fact cannot be a sustainable long-term plan for dealing with the border in the Irish Sea,\u201d Mr Robinson said.<\/p>\n

He also added that Northern Ireland remained subject to laws made in Brussels while Great Britain was not, describing this as \u201cthe legal reality\u201d that must be addressed if the arrangements were to endure.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said the Government remained committed to securing the broadest possible support for Northern Ireland\u2019s trading arrangements.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s response to Lord Murphy\u2019s report shows we are taking practical steps in response to the views of businesses and communities,\u201d he said. \u201cWe believe the best and most sustainable results are achieved through agreed trading arrangements and working in partnership with business and civic society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Unionist<\/p>\n

Unionist leaders have hit out at the Windsor Framework after the UK Government accepted recommendations of the Independent Review led by Lord Murphy.<\/p>\n

News Catch Up – Tuesday 16 December <\/p>\n

The Government said the measures, including progress towards a future UK-EU SPS agreement, would help further smooth the flow of goods, though unionist parties insisted that without fundamental change, dissatisfaction would continue.<\/p>\n

Organisations representing trade here were also positive about the review, with Suzanne Wylie from the NI Chamber \u201cpleased\u201d with the acceptance of the recommendations and the prospect of more cash for businesses.<\/p>\n

“This investment marks a step forward in simplifying guidance and enhancing support for businesses navigating the Windsor Framework,\u201d Ms Wylie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs negotiations with the EU progress, especially regarding Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, it is essential that these discussions lead to a substantial reduction in red tape with Great Britain without delay. This is vital for Northern Ireland\u2019s agrifood supply chain and to ensure consumers continue to benefit from a wide range of affordable choices.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the body representing garden retailers and suppliers said the Government\u2019s move was signalling \u201ca clear intent to address the practical issues that continue to affect our member businesses trading between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennifer Pheasey from the Horticultural Trades Association added: \u201cThe focus must now be on swift implementation, supported by a clear and firm timeline for delivering all of the Review\u2019s recommendations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Figures from all three main unionist parties took aim at Westminster following recommendations from the Independent Review of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[26189,42,65,17770,43,40,38,41,39,26191,49234,95741],"class_list":{"0":"post-195864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-democratic-unionist-party","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-hilary-benn","11":"tag-kurtis-reid","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-top-news","14":"tag-top-stories","15":"tag-topnews","16":"tag-topstories","17":"tag-traditional-unionist-voice","18":"tag-ulster-unionist-party","19":"tag-windsor-framework"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}