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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Brendan Hughes

Windsor Framework: 67% believe DUP will reject new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland - poll

More than two thirds of Belfast Live readers surveyed believe the DUP will reject the Windsor Framework.

Almost 67% said they do not think the party will support the new deal on Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol and return to Stormont power-sharing.

Just over 11% said the DUP would support the agreement on Irish Sea trading arrangements, while 22% said they were unsure.

Read more: DUP issues statement after Ian Paisley says Windsor Framework does not meet party's seven tests

Around 1,000 votes were cast in the online poll held on Belfast Live in recent days after the UK and European Union unveiled on Monday their new deal following months of negotiations.

The agreement includes a new red and green-lane system for trade and an "emergency brake" for Stormont on future changes to EU goods rules applying to Northern Ireland.

More than 62% said they supported the Windsor Framework, while almost 23% were against it and 15% were unsure.

Similarly, 64% said they believed the deal would ease Irish Sea trading issues, almost 25% said it would not improve problems and 11% said they did not know.

The DUP has been blocking Stormont power-sharing in protest against the protocol, which angered unionists for creating new barriers on trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

The party said it will study the new framework against its seven tests before reaching a "collective" conclusion on whether to end its boycott.

But some senior party members such as Sammy Wilson, Nigel Dodds and Ian Paisley have already been vocal in expressing concerns about the deal.

A report from a unionist think tank which Mr Paisley chairs rejected new deal, saying it offers "no sound basis" for the DUP returning to power-sharing.

But the report, co-authored by loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, also said the Windsor deal was a "significant step forward" which could "with some necessary improvements" resolve unionist concerns.

On Friday, Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said the government will legislate to reassure unionists that their constitutional position in the United Kingdom is secure.

He also said that clarity would be provided in the coming days over the workings of the "Stormont Brake" veto mechanism contained within the Windsor Framework.

Mr Heaton-Harris told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme that he believes most unionist concerns with the deal relate to the Acts of Union.

He said: "This is why we are clear we need to make sure that Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom is secure so we will be looking to bring forward amendments to the Northern Ireland Act of 1998 to provide further assurances on that matter.

"There are concerns amongst unionists and we believe that we can, through the Northern Ireland Act 1998, provide a whole host of proper legal assurances.

"Reassurances in law that Northern Ireland remains an integral part of the United Kingdom and it is the Government saying that in primary legislation which is what people are asking for."

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