Of the party’s eight Members of Parliament, four struck a sceptical or hostile note whilst the others took a more reserved or conciliatory view.
Nearly seven years after the campaign, we are finally moving towards the kind of deal we might have had all along had we never joined.
It’s possible that he has pulled off a political coup, begun radically to re-set the UK’s relationship with the EU – and created the circumstances in which voters may give him a second look.
Let us seize the opportunity of this moment…The certainty of an agreement that fixes the problems we face…Commands broad support and consensus…And offers us, at last, the freedom to move forward, together.
The Prime Minister sets out the terms of the revised Northern Ireland Protocol in the Commons.
He says that the new framework will enhance the smooth flow of trade within the UK, protect Northern Ireland’s place in the Union and safeguard sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland.
“This agreement restores the balance of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement by fundamentally recasting arrangements in three key areas.”
“Taken together, these solutions constitute a set of meaningful changes to the Protocol and its operation which will provide lasting certainty and stability.”
“The framework is an international arrangement between the UK and the EU under which the parties commit to binding international law obligations, including changes to the Protocol itself.”
“We are allies, trading partners and friends…something that we’ve seen clearly as we joined with others to support Ukraine. This is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship.”
If Sunak reaches a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol, he will need it endorsed by DUP politicians with whom he has almost nothing in common.
Like the SNP, the EU are often an overtly hostile negotiating partner. They will take whatever ground he gives up and come back for more.
The Leader of the House of Commons says that it demonstrates that the deal has to deliver “the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom.”
By overselling what it has achieved, the Government risks setting unrealistic expectations and limiting its future room for manoeuvre.