Before they were bussed off to Windsor last Thursday for a fun-filled away day on how to approach the next general election, many Conservative MPs believed a corner might just have been turned in their party’s fortunes.
Rishi Sunak appeared to have pulled off a remarkable success with his deal on the Northern Ireland protocol. The newspapers had been full of stories suggesting the prime minister might be about to betray the Brexit ers and sell out the Democratic Unionist party (DUP). And they were raising questions about how Boris Johnson, still furious over Sunak’s role in ousting him from No 10 last summer, might exploit this moment of maximum danger to advance his own plans for a sensational comeback to Downing Street.
The choreography of the European Commission’s president Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to unveil the Windsor framework alongside the prime minister was intended to show that the Sunak government was approaching European negotiations differently from the days of the confrontational Johnson leadership. The UK and EU were now friends and partners after Brexit, no longer implacable foes.
In his statement to the Commons later last Monday, the prime minister was meticulous in explaining the detail of the joint UK-EU plan, particularly its surprise rabbit-out-of-the-hat element: the proposal for a “ Stormont brake ” that would allow a power-sharing Northern Ireland government to veto new EU laws it did not like.
Bu hikaye The Guardian Weekly dergisinin March 10, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Guardian Weekly dergisinin March 10, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
If kids get protected from online harm, how about the rest of us?
The Australian government has proposed a ban on social media for all citizens under 16.
'It's not drought - it's looting'
Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded - and one group is profiting from these extremes: the thirsty multinational companies forcing angry citizens to pay for water in bottles.
Life in the grey Zone
Neonatal care has advanced so far that babies born as early as 21 weeks have survived. But is this type of care always the right thing to do?
Out of tune? Band Aid under fire for Africa tropes as it turns 40
Forty years ago this month, a group of pop stars gathered at a west London studio to record a single that would raise millions, inspire further starry projects, and ultimately change charity fundraising in the UK.
Deaths shine spotlight on risks of drinking on party trail
Vang Vieng is an unlikely party hub. Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves in central Laos, it morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic tourist destination in the early 2000s.
Different strokes My strange and emotional week with an AI pet
Moflin can develop a personality and build a rapport with its owner - and doesn't need food or exercise. But is it comforting or alienating?
Strike zone Waking up to the rising threat of lightning
When the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world's most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally.
Cheap pints and sticky carpets: the old-school pub is back
In the Palm Tree pub, east London, barman Alf is taking only cash at the rattling 1960s till.
Brain gain Can a radical tax scheme convince the country's brightest to stay?
In the autumn of 2018, I moved to Lisbon for a month-long course at the Universidade .de Lisboa.
Fear and sympathy in small town divided over asylum camp
A year after anti-immigration riots, a site for asylum seekers faces hostility while some locals try to help new arrivals