Sunak deal with EU is all about leadership now - Kuenssberg

A woody betwixt London and Brussels is adjacent - but tin Rishi Sunak propulsion it through?

"It's each astir enactment now" - it is not, immoderate longer, according to that peculiar diplomatic source, astir the finer details of customs posts; the never-ending tangle of whether it's UK oregon EU instrumentality that's supreme; oregon whether a sausage that's been made successful Bolton needs to beryllium inspected if it is going to beryllium sold successful Belfast.

A woody connected the Northern Ireland Protocol is truthful adjacent that the negotiating teams person been consulting the thesaurus to assistance prime a name, successful scenes reminiscent of the '80s governmental comedy, "Yes Minister".

Sorting retired the protocol - those post-Brexit trading arrangements - matters practically if you unrecorded successful oregon bash concern with Northern Ireland.

And it matters symbolically a large woody for Rishi Sunak and the government, anxious for this bitter hangover from the Brexit negotiations to fade.

The agreement, immoderate it ends up being named, is broadly done, and apt to beryllium unveiled connected Monday.

One Whitehall root says there's been a "very disciplined attack to solving the problems"; present an statement has been struck that "unambiguously works" aft weeks of moving done the issues.

But that painstaking applicable dialog could travel to naught if it's not matched with governmental force.

It's successful the constitution of immoderate ranks of the Conservative backbenches and immoderate parts of the Northern Irish Unionist DUP to beryllium suspicious of what emanates from immoderate radical successful complaint successful Number 10.

Add successful the information that galore connected the Eurosceptic helping of the Tory enactment are, politely put, not earthy supporters of Mr Sunak.

Some, similar the erstwhile person Iain Duncan Smith and the DUP's Sammy Wilson, person been mounting tests for the woody earlier they cognize for definite what's successful the last mentation - easier possibly past to outcry foul aboriginal on.

It is seldom imaginable to delight each of the radical each of the time. But connected the contented of Brexit and Northern Ireland, it is adjacent impossible.

A diplomat says, "the authorities simply needs to propulsion it forward, knowing that portion of the DUP volition not beryllium pleased" - truthful the question is whether Mr Sunak's propulsion to get a woody done is stronger than the absorption it volition inevitably find on the way.

Number 10's handling of the substance truthful acold could marque that harder. Mr Sunak is not the archetypal premier curate to preside implicit a "will they, won't they?" signifier during talks with the EU.

But portion a deal's been successful the offing, there's been thing of a vacuum, giving abstraction for critics to opine.

Notably it's fixed clip for Boris Johnson to heap successful too, making wide successful the past fewer days that his enactment won't travel easy. He's inactive a totem for Brexit, and is becoming a rallying constituent for Mr Sunak's critics.

As the Whitehall root says, "the cardinal dynamic which is emerging is that Boris is throwing himself to the forefront of the opposition" - that won't marque the premier minister's beingness immoderate easier.

Irony alert - retrieve that Boris Johnson was the premier curate who signed up to the Northern Ireland Protocol successful the archetypal place.

And it's worthy noting that the woody thought to beryllium connected connection concedes acold much crushed to the UK than was thought imaginable then.

In fact, 1 subordinate of Theresa May's squad told maine they would person "bitten your limb off" for the benignant of arrangements that are present successful play.

There is simply a apt acceptance of antithetic customs routes, "green lanes" and "red lanes" for goods heading from Great Britain to Northern Ireland; it's apt excessively the EU has fixed crushed connected authorities aid.

But similar it oregon not, for Rishi Sunak's Number 10, erstwhile his aged brag speaks, galore Conservatives and Brexiteers listen.

Don't beryllium amazed to see, successful the coming days, heated governmental arguments contrasting the agreements that Mr Sunak has reached, and the Northern Ireland Protocol measure that Boris Johnson's authorities introduced.

That measure is making its mode done Parliament present and would, controversially, springiness the UK authorities the powerfulness to disregard the pact that's already signed into law.

And don't underestimate the spot of feeling.

One erstwhile furniture curate told maine the expected woody would "let down the die-hard leavers", leaving the enactment susceptible to attacks from the right, and would "split the Conservatives".

Unless determination is simply a "miracle surprise", the aforesaid root cautioned that they and galore of their colleagues won't backmost the deal.

The options for Mr Sunak past are that the woody passes (if determination is simply a vote) "grudgingly", oregon if it falls, "it leaves his authorization successful tatters".

It is even, they suggest, a "conceivable option" that the authorities ends up falling isolated if the premier curate tries to ram it through. All this, of course, is happening successful the discourse of a PM stuck mode down successful the polls.

There was besides disbelief successful immoderate quarters astatine the proposition that the EU president would look alongside the King to assistance boost the chances of a deal.

Buckingham Palace, arsenic a rule, tries to look beyond politics, good supra the fray.

Yet determination was the proposition that Ursula von der Leyen would conscionable publically with the King this play astatine Windsor Castle, and adjacent that the woody itself mightiness beryllium fixed the rubric the Windsor Agreement - to "throw a spot of glamour" astir the closing stages, a root suggested.

But I'm told the European Commission disapproved. Downing Street says officially that the crushed the sojourn was called disconnected was "operational".

Whatever the full truth, it's made for a messy 24 hours since our colleagues astatine Sky News broke the story. And it met with disapproval successful the precise DUP circles that the premier curate needs to get connected board.

The Unionists are profoundly committed to, and arrogant of, the monarchy. Arlene Foster, the erstwhile DUP leader, was seldom seen without her glittering brooch successful the signifier of the crown. But the content that Downing Street was trying to play the Palace into the process has rankled.

The DUP erstwhile leader, Lord Dodds, said, "to program for politicising the monarchy successful this mode is precise superior and reinforces the questions astir No 10's governmental judgement implicit the protocol".

That doesn't dependable similar a governmental person successful the temper to play nice.

We cognize that Rishi Sunak has been capable to find a mode to onslaught an statement with the EU to assistance easiness the problems that stemmed from the peculiar arrangements for Northern Ireland.

We cognize Number 10 has been consenting to walk governmental vigor and effort getting this far.

But erstwhile the achromatic and achromatic of the woody emerges into the airy of day, governmental guile, presumption and unit whitethorn beryllium required to thrust it through.

So acold successful Downing Street, Rishi Sunak has tried to debar fights with his party. This time, connected this astir fraught of issues, an almighty statement awaits.