Professor Simon Usherwood gives expert testimony to Parliament

Simon Usherwood, Professor of Politics and International Relations, has given evidence to two Parliamentary Committees on the UK’s current and future relationship with the EU.

Professor Usherwood provided written evidence on the Windsor Framework to the House of Lords European Select Committee’s Sub-Committee in April 2023. His testimony is included in the Report from the Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: The Windsor Framework published on 25 July 2023.

He noted that “The Windsor Framework is at least as important for what it represents as for what it contains... The Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) of the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), the Framework is both word and action by the UK Government to uphold the obligations of that Protocol… {and] is thus once again the baseline for UK-EU relations, both on Northern Ireland itself and more generally.

“Overall, the Framework marks a positive development in the management of the NIP and in UK-EU relations. However, there remains a concern that the UK Government has still to fully internalise the cross-linkages of policy as they might affect Northern Ireland. While the removal of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill was clearly a necessary step in demonstrating good faith, the continuing progress of the Illegal Immigration Bill suggests limits to this. The latter Bill’s potential infringement of European Convention on Human Right’s (ECHR) obligations has the potential to compromise the operation of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), which in turn would make relations with the EU, Ireland and external sponsors such as the United States considerably more problematic.”

Professor Usherwood also gave evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Business and Trade on the 2026 Review of the UK-EU Trade Agreement on 18 July 2023.