The UK’s Supreme Court effectively shut down a legal challenge to the Northern Ireland protocol last week as Brexit grievances grow
The Bowie fans out to make heart surgery easier: ‘We do think this can be the future of medical imaging for decades to come’
Appellants had maintained that the protocol unlawfully conflicted with part of the 1800 Act of Union, which says all parts of the UK must be treated equally in matters of trade. Handing down the judgment, Lord Justice Stephens noted that the appellants had contended that the protocol had “brought about a substantial diminution to the status of Northern Ireland within the UK” – seeming to give credence to that proposition – but ultimately dismissed the appeal on the grounds that the protocol did not breach previous laws, as contended.The mood music surrounding the challenge was low key suggesting the appellants held little hope of winning.
The upside to the North’s new trading equation is that it retains access to the EU’s single market, something investment agencies have been advertising but under the radar of politics. That’s of course cold comfort to the DUP and Brexiteers. Unhappiness with Brexit across the UK as a whole is potentially a bigger problem. Depending on the poll, about 60 per cent of UK citizens think leaving the EU was the wrong decision and would vote to rejoin the bloc at a second referendum.