Brexit deal must protect Good Friday Agreement

Elaine Duffy
Elaine Duffy

Conference backed Northern Ireland in its call to campaign to protect the Good Friday Agreement in the context of the UK exit from the EU.

UNISON will call for a deal which protects the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and prevents a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

It will also call for an independent international body to monitor the implementation of the peace agreement and to ensure future decisions of both guarantor governments align with the provisions and intention of the Agreement.

Scotland’s Elaine Duffy, seconding the motion, said:

“We in Scotland are deeply concerned by the damage that Brexit is doing to the peace and the ;political process in Northern Ireland.”

She added that we had been fighting in Scotland since the Brexit vote against Tory attempts to grab powers back that have been devolved.

“We are seeing an increasingly ‘disunited kingdom’ where both Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain”, said Elaine.

“We cannot forget that this is only the start of exiting the EU, not the end. We don’t just need a ‘backstop’, we need a future relationship with the EU that builds and strengthens the protections set out in the backstop.

“The future relationship must protect the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts.”

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