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Fiona Rintoul: A Northern Ireland-style ‘Scotland protocol’ is worth serious thought

Think of it as a kind of devo-max that preserves our place in the UK and in Europe - making us 'an exciting economic zone'.

Rishi Sunak speaks to workers in Lisburn, Northern Ireland (Image: Liam McBurney/AP/Shutterstock)
Rishi Sunak speaks to workers in Lisburn, Northern Ireland (Image: Liam McBurney/AP/Shutterstock)

Think of it as a kind of devo-max that preserves our place in the UK and in Europe – making us ‘an exciting economic zone’, writes Fiona Rintoul.

Anyone else consumed by rage while watching Prime Minister Rishi Sunak jump up and down like a children’s entertainer as he outlined the benefits of his Northern Ireland deal?

So excited was he by how clever he’d been, and the special surprise he had for the kiddies, that his little hands went round and round like Catherine wheels. Access to the UK market AND the EU market: can you imagine anything more special? How simply super!

“Nobody else has that,” Sunak gushed to factory workers in Lisburn, against a background of wall-to-wall Coca-Cola cans. “Only you guys – only here, and that is the prize.” His eyes gleamed, and I thought I might have a seizure.

Brexit has been a nightmare from start to finish. We have lost a lot of rights that I, for one, held very dear. Our businesses are drowning in red tape. Our international standing has tanked and won’t recover. However, this was the moment that nearly broke me.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m glad there is a special deal for Northern Ireland that will preserve peace on the island. But, the sheer doublethink gall of Sunak’s remarks was too much. The inability to grasp how badly Brexit has crushed us all.

Every storm passes, and so did this one. I sank into the kind of sullen despair that is the new normal for me when I consider UK politics.

There is nothing to hope for. No party or political figure who offers anything more inspiring than damage limitation.

Make Scotland ‘an exciting economic zone’

Then, a lightbulb went on in my head. If Sunak can negotiate a special deal for Northern Ireland that permits access to the UK and EU market, a Scotland protocol is also possible. It wouldn’t be the same, obviously, because the problems are different, and we’d want access to the EU market for services as well goods. But, if the will were there, we could do it.

Think of it as a kind of devo-max that preserves our place in the UK and in Europe – making us “an exciting economic zone”, like NI. This would respect the democratic wishes of the Scottish people, as expressed in the 2016 Brexit and the 2014 independence referendums.

Labour is waiting for the SNP to self-immolate. Instead, it should seize the agenda

Our economy would blossom, and we wouldn’t need the grudged subsidies we supposedly get from England. Win-win!

Labour is waiting for the SNP to self-immolate. Instead, it should seize the agenda.

The party needs to offer Scots a vision that makes them feel they can thrive within the UK. The five-point plan to Make Brexit Work is not it. A Scotland protocol could be.

So, let’s be having you. There are only two reasons not to consider this: you don’t really care about Scotland – or, you’re feart.


Fiona Rintoul is an author and translator

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