with checks carried out. northern ireland�*s largest party, the democratic unionist party is opposed to the deal. the truth is, this is not a stormont brake, it�*s a fake and it should be rejected by the house and does not protect the union, does not protect democracy northern ireland it would not get the assembly back and running again. to really put this into context, let�*s remind ourselves of the state of play in northern ireland. it�*s governed by what�*s known as a power—sharing executive — where the largest parties govern together. but that arrangement has been suspended since february 2022. that�*s because the dup collapsed the executive over its opposition to the trading arrangements for northern ireland in the original brexit deal. there�*ve been several efforts to break the deadlock — all have failed. dr clare rice is a politics researcher at liverpool university — specialising in northern irish politics.