Editorial: The DUP leader is right to strike a sombre tone in his defence of the deal

The article on these pages by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP leader, pays careful reading (‘We have squeezed everything we can from the negotiations and we have made real progress across all of our seven tests,’ January 31)

​The tone of it is striking, and it seems in contrast to the Lagan Valley MP’s more buoyant mood after the deal was announced at 1am yesterday, and even to some later morning comments.

Sir Jeffrey points to welcome changes such as a new system that will “remove checks for goods moving within the UK Internal Market system”, to “substantial legal change” between the UK and EU “expanding the number of goods classed as not at risk flowing from Great Britain to NI”. MLAs will have a “meaningful” say on whether future EU law applies in NI and the UK will have a veto over any EU law that harms our ability within UK.

It is particularly welcome to learn that all legal duties to protect the ‘all-island economy’ will be scrapped. This reflects that this has been a negotiation between a UK government and the lead unionist party alone, and that there is pushback against Irish demands and Irish framing, as indeed there has been against Dublin’s disgraceful, hypocritical legacy legal action against the UK.

Sir Jeffrey writes opposite that people “value honesty” and that he will not “claim that every battle has been won” but it is a chance to bank gains and make “the case for further change”.

This is an important acknowledgement. Just as it would be disagreeable to hear the DUP crow about money, which Sir Jeffrey has not done opposite, it would be unpalatable to hear a depiction of this week as a big victory. He has been put under outrageous pressure from London, Washington, Dublin, other parties, not applied to Sinn Fein in its three-year collapse – a grim context for Northern Ireland in 2024.

Today we will learn more of the deal, and unionists can chart a way forward after a torrid eight years. There is much to consider – including an honest appraisal of unionist mistakes over that time.