Windsor Framework: Democratic oversight and the independent review

On 9 January 2025 the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn MP, commissioned Lord Murphy of Torfaen, a former minister and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to undertake an independent review into the functioning of the Windsor Framework. The review is intended to consider how the Windsor Framework could operate in a way that commands the support of all communities in Northern Ireland. Lord Murphy must report his findings to the Northern Ireland Secretary by 10 July 2025.  

What is the Windsor Framework?

The Windsor Framework was agreed in February 2023. It made changes to the operation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, part of the Withdrawal Agreement which set out the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU at the end of January 2020.

An important objective of the Protocol was to avoid a “hard” customs and regulatory border on the island of Ireland. It provided for the continued application in Northern Ireland of EU laws in areas such as customs and the movement of goods, VAT and excise duties on goods, the single electricity market, and state aid. These EU laws did not apply in other parts of the UK after Brexit.

The changes made by the Windsor Framework were intended to ease difficulties in the operation of the Protocol “to the benefit of all communities in Northern Ireland” while ensuring the integrity of the EU Single Market and the UK’s internal market.

Democratic consent for the application of EU law

The independent review is part of a wider process to ensure there is democratic consent in Northern Ireland for the application of EU law where this is provided for in the Protocol/Windsor Framework. On 10 December 2024 a majority of the members of the Northern Ireland Assembly gave their consent when asked to vote on a motion to support the continued application of EU law under the Windsor Framework.

The vote did not have “cross-community support” because MLAs representing the Unionist community, one of the two main communities in Northern Ireland identified in the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, voted against the motion. MLAs representing the Nationalist community, as well as MLAs identifying neither as Unionist nor Nationalist, voted for the motion.   

In these circumstances, where there is no cross-community support in the Assembly, the Secretary of State is obliged by statute to commission an independent review to consider the implications of the Windsor Framework and the application of EU law on social, economic and political life in Northern Ireland.

The independent review

The Secretary of State published Terms of Reference on 10 January 2025. In preparing his report Lord Murphy must consult widely with Northern Ireland stakeholders and make recommendations which he believes could command cross-community support. His report will then be made available to Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Democratic oversight of the Windsor Framework

In its Command Paper, the Windsor Framework: a new way forward published in February 2023, the Conservative (Sunak) government said that the democratic consent process was “insufficient on its own to address concerns about the role of EU courts, as well as how to respect and protect the voice and interests of all communities in Northern Ireland”. It said further democratic safeguards were needed.

These include:

• a new “Stormont Brake” mechanism which applies when the EU updates various laws applicable in Northern Ireland
• a new “applicability motion” procedure in the Assembly when the UK government is considering an EU request to add a new law to the Windsor Framework
• a new Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee to assist the Assembly in scrutinising new and updated EU laws.

The first part of this research briefing considers the background to the independent review and sets it within the context of the democratic consent process. The second part focuses on the purpose and functions of the independent review. The third part looks at the new democratic scrutiny arrangements introduced to support the Windsor Framework in the Assembly as well as democratic oversight at Westminster.