Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

This agreement ends a chapter in the Brexit saga but it does not bring to an end the tensions between the capitalist powers. The agreement sets a framework in which ongoing tensions can be increased. The deal was negotiated and drawn up by representatives of British big business and their European counterparts. Such an agreement can never be in the fundamental interests of working people in Ireland, Britain or the EU.

On the EU side, Brexit is a major blow but this agreement will allow the Union to protect its Single Market and, by extension, its imperialist trade policies. On the British side, the deal will allow the Tory Government to move towards its bargain basement Brexit dream of a Singapore-on-Thames, a low-tax, lightly regulated economy that would have a competitive advantage over EU economies. The Tories do not want to break free from EU state aid rules in order to launch nationalisation, save jobs or redevelop the economy. Instead, they want to use state aid to boost the profits of British business and boost their competitive edge against competitors in Europe, Japan, China and the US.

The agreement sees a major attack on worker and democratic rights. Many of the rights enjoyed by ordinary people in Britain and Ireland in each other's jurisdictions have been given some assurance. Nevertheless, the agreement sees a major attack on the rights of other EU and British citizens in each other's jurisdictions. These include attacks on the right to live and work, the right to study, the right to social protection and pensions and access to public services. All these have been diminished.

This is part of a plan to drive a race to the bottom and undermine worker rights. The deal will also provide for the undermining of consumer rights and, crucially, important environmental standards. These plans must be met with organised opposition by working people and trade unions, including international solidarity across Britain and the rest of Europe.

The endorsement of the Northern Ireland protocol will be met with relief by many people in Border communities. A hardening of the North-South Border would have been a major imposition on these communities, causing much economic hardship. It would also have served as a reminder of the Troubles and partition, thereby increasing sectarian tensions. However, it must also be noted that the agreement will see a hardening of the east-west border, particularly as the British economy and its regulations diverge. The deal will add to the legitimate feeling of insecurity of many ordinary Protestants about the future and the sense that they are being coerced into an economic united Ireland. Socialists are opposed to coercion and stand for a solution to the conflict and the differing national aspirations based on shared worker interests.

Under the protocol, the Northern Ireland Assembly will vote every four years on the arrangements. This is a blueprint for sectarian conflict and tensions that will be stoked by the likes of the Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn Féin and other sectarian forces. We also note the threat of food shortages in the North and increased food prices North and South. Workers must not pay the price and the trade union movement has a responsibility to ensure they do not do so. The calling of a conference of workers' movements, with representatives from communities and workplaces to push back on that threat, would be an important step.

Under capitalism, a system based on competition and cut-throat profiteering, we have seen international relations increasingly being marked by imperialism, conflict and division. As a socialist and internationalist, I, along with the Socialist Party and Solidarity, stand for a fundamentally different way of organising society. We stand for a society based on co-operation and we want to register our opposition to this agreement. Instead of an agreement providing a new framework of imperialist, nationalist and sectarian tensions, we stand for a very different road, where the interests of working people are placed at the forefront.

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