Rishi Sunak's new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland being passed by MPs is a welcome development.

For too long Northern Ireland has been left in limbo. It is hurting not only business across the Irish channel but also here in regions like ours.

It has also created a great deal of unnecessary uncertainty around the Northern Ireland peace process.

The fact that the Tory rebellion was muted with only 22 Conservative MPs voting against a key part of the new deal with the EU.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak departs 10 Downing Street, London, to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament. PIC: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

The vote was on the Stormont brake, which would give a future Northern Ireland Assembly a way to challenge new EU goods legislation.

Former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were amongst the rebels but let's not forget that they lacked the statecraft to strike an agreement with the EU.

The original Brexit withdrawal deal negotiated by Mr Johnson led to a series of checks on goods sent from the UK to Northern Ireland. The economic impact was one that the architects of the deal such as Mr Johnson himself bemoaned despite having billed it as a great deal previously.

The country must look forward and to do so it needs to extricate itself from this long period of stasis. It is not what the people voted for during the referendum of 2016.

On the horizon are huge economic challenges. Firms want to get on with business and the Windsor Framework is a constructive way of allowing them to do so. Both the Prime Minister and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, deserve credit for securing the agreement.

Northern Ireland Brexit deal will allow country to look forward - The Yorkshire Post says