No Windsor Framework alternative, says government

The UK government has said the Windsor Framework is "the only available and credible" basis for stability in Northern Ireland.

The framework is Northern Ireland's post-Brexit deal which covers trade and human rights.

Next week the Northern Ireland Assembly will vote on whether to continue with the framework for another four years.

The government has published its assessment of the deal ahead of that vote.

The vote, known as the democratic consent motion, was first agreed between the UK and EU in 2020 as a way to give Northern Ireland's politicians a limited say on any deal.

Unlike other votes at Stormont, there is no requirement for cross-community support for the motion. A simple majority will suffice.

The deal is opposed by unionist parties, but they are expected to be out-voted by the assembly's non-unionist majority.

The government is legally required to publish "explanatory materials" ahead of the vote.

It is done that in the form of a ten-page document which defends the Windsor Framework.

It describes the framework as "necessarily a compromise, to meet the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland".

It adds that it "does not believe that there are alternative or unilateral arrangements available for managing the unique circumstances of NI, subsequent to the UK’s departure from the EU".

It concludes that it has the "strong view" that stability and prosperity in Northern Ireland is best served through the continued application of the framework.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and other unionist parties have argued a simple majority vote creates a democratic deficit as the concerns of unionists who are in the minority at Stormont can be ignored.

In a statement last week, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said it had been "deliberately designed to drive a coach and horse through the cross-community consent principle, which has been at the very heart of all political progress in Northern Ireland".

If the vote is carried without cross-community support, the government has committed to ordering an independent review of the post-Brexit arrangements and their implications.

The framework is an amended version of Northern Ireland's original Brexit deal, the Protocol.

It creates a trade border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as the way to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.