SDLP LEADER COLUM Eastwood said his party has not decided whether it will vote in favour of or abstain from the Commons vote on the Stormont brake.

MPs will vote on the mechanism in Westminster tomorrow, while the DUP has already voiced its intention to vote against the Windsor Framework proposal.

The brake would allow a minority of MLAs at Stormont to formally flag concerns about the imposition of new EU laws in Northern Ireland – a move that could see the UK Government veto their introduction in the region.

If the break is triggered, it would automatically suspend the application of the EU rule in Northern Ireland until the existing EU/UK joint committee on Withdrawal Agreement consider the issue.

At this point, the EU would have the right to take retaliatory or remedial measures specifically related to the substance of the disputed rule.

“I think it’s utterly ridiculous for anybody to think that 30 MLAs in Northern Ireland would be able to veto European regulations. That’s madness,” Eastwood said on BBC’s Good Morning Ulster.

“I think the Stormont brake is a bad idea anyway, I think it muddies the water in terms of our investment proposition.”

He added that the SDLP has not decided their position for Wednesday’s vote: “We’ll either vote for it or abstain, we’ll make that decision today.”

Commenting on the DUP’s position on the Stormont brake, Eastwood said: “I don’t really understand what the DUP were expecting was going to happen. They can have their position on this if they want, but the deal is done, it is absolutely clear.

“They’re going to find that tomorrow when the British Government vote this through anyway, the deal is done. There is no more negotiating to be done.

“What people really want to know [is], not how the DUP are going to vote tomorrow, but when they’re going to nominate a deputy first minister and get back into government.”

Eastwood also addressed concerns raised by members of his own party about the democratic deficit created by the Windsor Framework and the impact of European regulation on Northern Ireland laws.

“The best way to fix the democratic deficit is going back into the European Union, but the idea that a devolved assembly or 30 members of it would be setting EU regulations is just bonkers, frankly, and anybody who thinks otherwise, I don’t know what planet they’re living on,” he said.

Meanwhile, DUP MP Sammy Wilson has said the Windsor Framework does not go far enough to address the democratic deficit.

Whilst representing real progress the “brake” does not deal with the fundamental issue which is the imposition of EU law by the Protocol.@J_Donaldson_MP https://t.co/6x01HqdQmX

— DUP (@duponline) March 20, 2023

“These European regulations will become Northern Ireland laws, they will have an impact on businesses on people in Northern Ireland, and our ability to trade freely with the rest of the United Kingdom, which of course is our biggest market,” Wilson said on Good Morning Ulster.

He added that elected representatives from Northern Ireland should not be beholden to EU law.

“Regardless of what part of the community you come from, they expect their own elected representatives to be the ones who make the laws and then be held accountable for the laws.

“And the fact of the matter is even with the Windsor framework, EU laws will still apply in Northern Ireland and the opportunities to change those laws are totally removed from elected representatives in Northern Ireland.”

Wilson said the party will “continue the fight” against the Northern Ireland Protocol following tomorrow’s vote.

Wilson was also asked by Eastwood on Good Morning Ulster about when the DUP plans to return to Stormont.

The party has refused to return to powersharing in Stormont since May 2022 over concerns surrounding the protocol.

“Colum, you may be prepared to roll over, to having powers taken away from the people who are elected to Stormont, we’re not,” Wilson said.

“At one stage the SDLP and Alliance and other parties, were saying we’ve got to have the full implementation of the protocol because there’s no other game in town,” he said.

“We insisted that the protocol was not acceptable and that negotiation had to be undertaken to revise it and remove it. We got the negotiation, but we didn’t get the outcome so we have to continue the fight, and we will continue the fight.”

After Eastwood said “the negotiation is over”, Wilson added: “We were told that before and then negotiations started. You may be the kind of person who surrenders very easily on these issues, we’re not.

“Of course there’s something very important here for unionists, if the protocol in its revised version stays or original version stays, then that will be the end of the Union.”

Elsewhere, Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said that while further reforms are necessary, the Windsor Framework represents an important stepping stone in resolving Brexit trading relationships.

“The Ulster Unionist Party see the framework as a stepping stone towards achieving a lasting solution to the many issues and challenges with our post-Brexit trading relationship with both Great Britain and the European Union,” he said.

“The Stormont brake offers Northern Ireland politicians a unique say in EU laws that may affect this part of the UK due to our access to the single market, but important points of legal and technical clarification still remain outstanding. ”

Beattie also highlighted the importance of the Stormont Assembly in dealing with the framework moving forward: “The simple fact is that without a functioning devolved government we cannot address either the opportunities or deal with the challenges of the Windsor Framework.”