Johnson’s weak proposals show only the people can ‘get Brexit done’

The Johnson agreement may yet evolve into the one that satisfies all sides and allows Brexit to take place in a matter of days... but logic and experience suggest otherwise

Thursday 03 October 2019 19:46 BST
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The prime minister has shown he has little understanding of the history and attitudes of the Irish towards partition
The prime minister has shown he has little understanding of the history and attitudes of the Irish towards partition

Whether or not Boris Johnson deliberately designed his Brexit proposal with a view to being rejected by the EU, it has certainly been greeted with scepticism, albeit polite.

The most incisive comment came from Michel Barnier, the EU’s lead negotiator, who called it a “trap” for the EU. Whereas the withdrawal agreement concluded with Theresa May floating the prospect of the UK being kept in the EU customs union against its will under the “Irish backstop”, the Johnson plan proposes that Northern Ireland remains in the EU single market, with the Northern Ireland executive and assembly having the opportunity to opt out either by the end of the transition period (2020), or at four-year intervals thereafter.

Thus, the EU is being invited to take part in a new relationship with the UK that can be unilaterally altered by the UK, and with dramatic effect. Thus, if Northern Ireland decided to leave the “zone of regulatory compliance” stretching across the island of Ireland, and begin, with the rest of Britain, to diverge from EU and Irish products and other standards, then the likelihood of checks at the border itself is hugely increased. This is because of the geographic sensitivity of movements of livestock and agrifood, which means that they cannot be dealt with in customs centres many miles from the border.

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