Boris Johnson would love for DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to return to Stormont with a copy of the new account in his back pocket and the “protocol problem” settled.
It would give the struggling prime minister a resounding victory.
As a Stormont restorer and patron of the peace process, he could enjoy an immediate reward for his bold unilateral move to Northern Ireland.
Unfortunately, this is not going to happen – at least not in the near future.
Sir Jeffrey made it clear to me and other colleagues in the media that his party would not return to power.
The DUP will select this bill and its provisions and put them against its “seven tests” for the protocol.
Then, and only then, can the party feel the appropriate reassurance to enter a new executive.
As for Sinn Féin, the frustration is obvious.
They may call this move illegal as often as they like, but they are strangers to Westminster and know that, basically, a way out of this “mess,” as Michelle O’Neill described it, lies somewhere between London and Brussels.
