Brexit, Devolution and Northern Ireland’s Political Parties: Differential Solutions, Special Status or Special Arrangements?

Abstract

Uniquely, Northern Ireland is distinctive within the UK in having power sharing arrangements between the parties. The parties within this system must confront the particular problems posed by Brexit: that Northern Ireland would be the only part of the UK with a land border with the EU, and that there are serious implications for cross border travel and trade, the large 'agri-food' industry and existing EU support for socio-economic improvement and the peace process. Underpinning the difficulties are fundamental policy cleavages between the two largest parties constituting the Northern Ireland Executive: the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is in favour of leave, and Sinn Fein, which is in favour of remain. This chapter explains the implications for the Brexit negotiations, and examines the consequences of this deep division in the lack of a consensus in Northern Ireland on Brexit issues, total lack of agreement on government departments or Assembly committees publishing reports and little response to the fears of civic society about the consequences of Brexit.