The old adage says that a week is a long time in politics. The last week has not only been long but also one that must please Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose carefully choreographed public statements and appearances have been adding centimetres, if not inches to his stature.

He has been at the centre of three developments, directly or indirectly: a new deal with the European Union to sort out the Brexit imbroglio in Northern Ireland, which challenged two of his predecessors; an influential parliamentary committee said in an interim report that Boris Johnson may have misled parliament when he insisted as the prime minister that no rules had been flouted during gatherings in Downing Street when the UK was in Covid lockdowns; and a cache of leaked WhatsApp messages of former health secretary Matt Hancock adding new grist to concerns over the Johnson government’s handling of lockdowns.

Ever since the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, the future of Northern Ireland – the only UK region adjoining an EU member-state (Ireland) but without a hard border – has been a challenge. Its trouble-torn history and politics further complicates its position. A separate section called the Northern Ireland Protocol was pencilled in the withdrawal agreement, but the complexities jeopardised the overall agreement, since that was the only UK region expected to follow some EU rules and checks on goods, which went against the idea of sovereignty (to be free from rules set in Brussels) implied in Brexit.

The Johnson government raised passions over the EU continuing to have some say in Northern Ireland, introducing a bill in parliament that would empower ministers to ‘disapply’ the protocol as well to make new domestic law in place of what is set out in the protocol. The short-lived Liz Truss government signalled a lowering of tensions, which was carried forward by Sunak, who brought a fresh approach to negotiations that led to the new arrangement for Northern Ireland.

Called the Windsor Framework, the new deal is aimed at significantly reducing the number of checks on goods from the UK entering Northern Ireland. Two lanes would be created for goods: A green lane for goods which will remain in Northern Ireland, and a red lane for goods which may be sent on to the EU through Ireland. Products going through the green lane would see checks and paperwork scrapped. Red lane goods would still be subject to checks. Bans on certain products entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain would be removed and Northern Ireland would also no longer have to follow certain EU rules, for example on VAT and alcohol duties.

There was much bonhomie between Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen, EU president, as they announced the Windsor Framework, marking a major political win for Sunak, who has not exactly been hailed inside and outside the Conservative party after taking over as prime minister in October 2022. Some concerns remain and the main political parties in Northern Ireland are yet to announce their positions on the agreement, but it has been widely hailed, partly also because of the fatigue and lack of appetite over continuing with the Get-Brexit-done discourse. Of more interest is the new arrangement that Northern Ireland will continue to have access to the EU single market – which is ruled out for the rest of the UK.

As Sunak noted, “If we get this right, if we get this framework implemented…Northern Ireland is in an unbelievably special position, the unique position in the entire world in having privileged access not just to the UK home market, which is the fifth biggest in the world, but also the European Union single market. Nobody else has that…And that is the prize…Nowhere else does that exist. It’s like the world’s most exciting economic zone.” He faced some flak for agreeing to a situation in which Northern Ireland has access to the EU single market, but that access is not available to Scotland (which voted against Brexit), Wales or England, where Brexit has hit revenues of businesses and added cumbersome paperwork.

Elsewhere, the spectre of Johnson’s return before the 2024 election has been hanging over Sunak’s leadership, but the cross-party Committee of Privileges of the House of Commons may have removed that prospect for Sunak. It has been investigating Johnson’s claims in parliament that all rules had been followed during events held in Downing Street during the lockdowns (he was among those fined for flouting rules). The committee’s interim report said it had seen evidence that "strongly suggests" Covid rule breaches would have been "obvious" to Johnson.

It said: “There is evidence that the House of Commons may have been misled in the following ways, which the committee will explore,” giving four examples, backed up by lengthy footnotes. But Johnson insisted said he never "knowingly or recklessly" misled MPs, confident he would be cleared by the committee when it presents its final report. Johnson’s new troubles must be music to Sunak’s ears, never mind that he was also among those fined when he was Johnson’s chancellor of the exchequer.

A formal finding by the committee that Johnson deliberately misled parliament could see him suspended. Under parliamentary rules, an exclusion of 14 days or longer would mean Johnson’s constituents in the London seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip could seek a recall petition to remove him as their MP. There are already reports that Johnson would be hard put to defend his slim majority in the next election.

Adding to the week’s headlines were Hancock’s WhatsApp messages leaked by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who previously worked with him on the jointly-authored book, Pandemic Diaries: The Inside Story of Britain’s Battle Against Covid. The daily drip feed of revelations continues and the former health secretary is livid, but the journalist insists she broke the non-disclosure agreement in the public interest. Among the revelations is Hancock ridiculing Sunak’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, which offered a 50 per cent discount to people eating in restaurants during the pandemic, costing the exchequer £849 million. There were studies at the time that the scheme led to a significant increase in infections.

The revelation is unlikely to cause any trouble politically for Sunak, who appears more firmly in the saddle now than he did since October 2022, but it may well take another long week for his fortunes to change, particularly during the May local elections, when the Conservative party is expected to face another bruising.

- The writer is a senior journalist based in London

Copyright © 2022 Khaleej Times. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).