Brexit: Will a new prime minister be able to solve the Northern Ireland issue?

As Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak go head-to-head as the final two in the Tory leadership contest following Boris Johnson’s resignation, one issue that remains unresolved for a new prime minister is the Northern Ireland protocol.

More than six years since the referendum and two and a half years since the UK left the European Union, the issue remains one of the main items of unfinished business that will be left over from the Johnson government.

As Mr Johnson’s Bill to rip up parts of the protocol, which he signed himself as part of the Brexit deal, makes its way through parliament, join our expert panel to ask the question - will the UK and EU ever come to a deal? And will a new prime minister - be it Ms Truss or Mr Sunak - be able to solve the problem as they take on the biggest job in the country?

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The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which plans to unilaterally scrap GB-NI border checks, is expected to reach the House of Lords before October, according to Baroness Smith.

Labour’s House of Lords leader said anger is building at the Bill, and accused the Government of “taking its eye off the ball” over Northern Ireland.

Some have contended that the Bill breaks international law by seeking to override sections of the protocol.

The move has sparked a fierce backlash from the bloc, with fresh legal action launched against Britain.

Will a new prime minister succeed in going back on Boris Johnson’s deal? What does this mean for the Good Friday Agreement? How will the bill affect the stability of Northern Ireland if it goes through, as Mr Johnson said at the G7 Summit, he hoped by the end of the year?

Join host The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul and a panel of experts including Dr Ronan Cormacain, Senior Research Fellow at The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, Claire Hanna, South Belfast MP and Member of the UK Trade and Business Commission, and Sorcha Eastwood, Alliance Party MLA, on Wednesday 27 July for our next virtual event at 6.30pm.

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