Northern Ireland Protocol Bill

Lord Bruce of Bennachie Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 11th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bruce of Bennachie (LD)]

My Lords, on 9 November 2019, Boris Johnson stated categorically about his oven-ready EU deal and the protocol:

“There will be no forms, no checks … You will have unfettered access.”


I was covering the Northern Ireland brief for these Benches at that time and I was astonished. I knew that the protocol meant that checks would be needed, and I knew that the Government and the Prime Minister knew. I immediately checked the government website and there it was in black and white: information as to what customs and excise rules would apply, where to find online forms from HMRC, and advice as to whether the extra processing would require the appointment of agents or recruitment of extra staff. That was on that same day that Boris Johnson made that assertion.

It was starkly clear that “Get Brexit Done” was a great electoral slogan for a weary electorate, but at its heart it was, and is, a deliberate deception. Yes, we are no longer a member of the EU, but we are trapped in no man’s land. It was always clear that the border arrangements guaranteed by the Good Friday agreement would be prejudiced by Brexit. Indeed, the Good Friday agreement was predicated on continued UK membership of the EU.

Within the EU, for most practical purposes, the island of Ireland was united with free trade, joint services and an open border. The protocol secures the open border by requiring Northern Ireland to operate within the rules of the EU but, inevitably, with the rest of the UK operating outside the EU, goods travelling between GB and Northern Ireland need to be contained within Northern Ireland and the UK, or to be identified as moving into the EU. This inevitably requires checks. The issue cannot therefore be unfettered access but, through negotiation and a combination of trust and technology, to allow movement and trade with the minimum of cost and bureaucracy.

It appears that some of the ideas behind this Bill point in that direction, but the mood music of hostility and belligerence of recent years has left little room. Like others, I welcome the change of tone in recent days, but if it is just a softening-up for a deal without substantive movement, I doubt it will succeed.

It has been suggested that Brexit was a simple solution by simple people to address a complex problem. In a post-pandemic economy, with soaring inflation and the costs of a European war, to choose to erect significant trade barriers with our principal local market is a self-inflicted harm. Now is surely the time for a little humility from those who led us down this route.

I accept that, currently, there is little appetite to reverse Brexit, although the advantages are minimal and the downside is huge. But there is an expectation of constructive, non-confrontational engagement with our friends and allies—because that is what they are—in the EU to reduce friction, ease trade in goods and services and rebuild trust. The Brexit vote was narrow. Nearly half of those who voted wanted continued membership of the EU. They are surely entitled to expect constructive and friendly relations and practical engagement, especially in Northern Ireland and Scotland where clear majorities voted to remain. This should lead to full participation in Horizon and revisiting Erasmus, which Turing does not come close to in money or practice. It must ensure arrangements to allow for as free access as possible for our creative industries and professional services. This will fall short of the arrangement we enjoyed within the EU, but surely can be better than the current impasse.

We have just witnessed the SNP conference in my home city of Aberdeen. Just as those who campaigned to leave the EU decried everything about the EU and Europe as a justification for their argument, so the SNP loses no opportunity to demonise everything British. Only by leaving the UK, it claims, can Scotland flourish—while being in complete denial of its abysmal failure in every single aspect of its governance of Scotland.

It is abundantly clear that Brexiteers had no clue as to how to move the UK to a better future outside the EU. This is confirmed by the report of our Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. It looks like the biggest abuse of executive power since the UK became a constitutional monarchy. The Government want sweeping powers without any indication of how they would use them. So, either they have a comprehensive plan which they do not wish Parliament to see, delete, debate or amend, or they have not the slightest idea of what they are doing—or probably both. That should be a clear warning that to trust Scotland’s destiny to the independence-obsessed and incompetent SNP would be an existential risk. But this Bill will do nothing for the UK’s economy, the unity of the United Kingdom or our standing in the world, and it should be abandoned.