Margaret Ritchie to join battle against Tory lawbreaking over Internal Market Bill
Northern Ireland’s only nationalist member of the House of Lords will today (Monday) join the ranks of peers voting to block the British government’s attempts to break international law over the EU.
Former South Down MP and SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie, Baroness of Downpatrick, aims to overturn parts of the notorious Internal Market Bill that has caused massive controversy because of illegal clauses it contains in Part 5.
These would allow the UK to ignore an agreement it has already signed providing for Northern Ireland to stay in the single market for goods after Brexit and so guarantee the Good Friday Agreement and avoid a hard border with the Republic.
Lady Ritchie, who has signed amendments to the bill as it passes through committee stage in the Lords, said today: “Quite simply, nationalists do not want borders on the island of Ireland or in the Irish Sea.
“I share the concerns of many of my unionist colleagues and want to see minimal friction on goods travelling from Britain to Northern Ireland.”
The bill would breach the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and the principles of reconciliation and partnership – which are at its heart, she added.
“The work on the healing process in many ways hasn’t begun and needs to start. It could be hampered by this and by the undermining of the GFA by those within the government who say they wish to protect it – nothing could be further from the truth.”
She called on Tory ministers to withdraw the damaging sections of the bill. “If the government wishes to establish trade deals with countries within the EU and the USA, it needs to honour and respect existing international agreements.
“It should not try to undermine them, as in doing so it could fracture intricate political arrangements established on the island of Ireland.”
She pointed out that United States President Elect Joe Biden had expressed this view during his campaign.
Lady Ritchie added: “I would imagine he will want to see there is adherence to the GFA and the principles of reconciliation and building a shared society in Ireland before contemplating trade deals with the USA.
“During the Brexit process, the government managed to set the nationalist and unionist communities against each other and undermine relations with Dublin by leaving the possibility of a hard border on the island of Ireland on the table for so long. Part 5 of the Bill could re-ignite those tensions and should be removed.
“The Internal Market Bill is viewed by many as a gross infringement of international law. It makes a mockery of the rule of law on which the foundations and functioning of democracy depend because it was written to break the law.”
Other peers are set to join Lady Ritchie in rejecting the bill, forcing it to be sent back to the House of Commons for MPs to give it further consideration.
