I\u2019m having a real hard time trying to understand what the objectives of the Brexiteers are with respect of Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
The way I see you have the following options:<\/p>\n
i) UK stays in a customs union and keeps free movement, including NI
\nii) UK except NI leaves customs union and ends free movement, border in the Irish Sea
\niii) UK incl. NI leaves customs union and ends movement, north south border in Ireland.<\/p>\n
But the Brexiteers will not accept any of the three. Their argument seems to be that i) is totally out of the question, that is why we are leaving. ii) It\u2019s absolutely unacceptable to them that there should be a difference between NI and the rest of the UK. And that iii) is unacceptable, but also unnecessary, if it happens it will be the fault of the EU.<\/p>\n
So the question is posed to the Brexiteers, how do you solve this problem? To which they reply \u201cMalthouse, alternative arrangements, technology\u201d. But of course when pressed on what that would entail, they can\u2019t give an answer\u2026 because it\u2019s not possible.<\/p>\n
The rhetoric amongst Brexiteers now seems to be \u201cwell, if there\u2019s a border with the EU, then that is the fault of the big, bad EU, not us!\u201d.<\/p>\n
Which is the most impossible logical situation to be in\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2014 It\u2019s the UK (Brexiteers) that wants to exit the EU and have an independent regulatory regime for our goods and services. This is not compatible with an open border, not on the EU\u2019s terms, but also not the UK\u2019s. It\u2019s not \u2018taking back control\u2019 to have an uncontrolled flow of smuggled goods into the country through NI.<\/p>\n
\u2014 It\u2019s the UK that wants to end free movement. It\u2019s not taking back control to have an open border where people can just come and go as they please. As far as I can tell it is impossible to have immigration controls between Ireland and the UK post free movement, without first coming up some incredibly sophisticated system. I mean come on, we don\u2019t even do exit controls at our ports. We have pretty much no idea who is in the UK as it is.<\/p>\n
So \u2014 the Brexiteers are demanding the impossible. It\u2019s contradictory ON THEIR OWN TERMS. Somewhere they have to make a decision about having a border somewhere, and clearly that\u2019s not politically acceptable between the Republic and NI.<\/p>\n
Disingenuous doesn\u2019t even begin to cover it. More like, trying to achieve the logically impossible without even knowing what they want to achieve.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Spot on Benzo: there is no logic here. And the Brexiteers are demanding the impossible. That's because they never did consider that they wanted this: they did, quite literally, just want to keep the pot boiling and give it a good stir. They never intended Brexit to happen. All they wanted was a bit of blue on blue action. If they had they'd have thought these things through they'd have anticipated these problems. But they never did. Because they never thought that they needed to. So they didn't. And so they have no answer to them.<\/p>\n
And that's why Brexiteers are impossible to understand.<\/p>\n
Just remember: this was never meant to happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The biggest claim made by Brexiteers right now is that Remainers do not understand them. If only we tried a bit harder it would be
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