And having seen the performance of May and co. you think building such infrastructure being stupid is actually going to stop it happening?
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And having seen the performance of May and co. you think building such infrastructure being stupid is actually going to stop it happening?
This does seem the biggest issue.
The EU were either mischievous or foolish in insisting that a deal on the NI border was a prerequisite to negotiations, as it presumes the outcome of the deal. The UK can do whatever it wants on the border, they can have a free border on the NI side. That is not true for the republic, they will have to introduce border controls to prevent the free movement of goods from the UK into the EU. (One can see an immense boost for the Irish economy, goods imported 'tariff free' into NI, driven across the border to the republic then moved within the free market of the EU.
All the UK needs to do is what they have done, say that the border will be unchanged. The problem is now with the EU.
You're right that the UK could chose to have an open border with Ireland but that would surely enrage those Brexit supporters who wanted to stop the hordes pouring in from the EU. With an open Ireland/NI border in the incoming (to NI) direction there'd be nothing to stop "them". A hard border between NI and the rest of the UK could go some way to mitigate that but I suspect that would go down like a lead balloon with the loyalist community.
IMO the best way for Theresa May to tackle this Gordian Knot would be for her to force Irish reunification. This would deny her access to her DUP allies but if she also granted Scotland independence, the Conservatives would have a handy majority
Yep because there is no "compromise" position for the Tory party, any actual decisions will result in the Tory party tearing itself apart.
Strawberry
Master Poster
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That's not an option. If the UK is not in a customs union with Ireland they will be obliged, under WTO rules, to have customs checks between them on their side of the border.
A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since he made that video.
IMO the "nothing happens" option is completely off the table, both main parties are now committed to Brexit (though IMO neither is clear on what Brexit they are looking for) and the Article 50 process has been started.
Also IMO, the "maximum Brexit" is well above 50%. It appears to be the favoured option by the Conservative Party and it's also the default option if those involved in the negotiations on the UK side are utterly incompetent and/or intransigent.
I do however agree that it seems mad that such a tiny majority voting for such an ill-defined alternative to the status quo means that we're potentially heading off an economic cliff.
quadraginta
Becoming Beth
Just as an aside; Given those enticements I suspect you might be able to get as many as 66% of them to go to the polls.
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Mebbe.
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If the car and diamonds were tax exempt.
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And they got to choose who did the blowjob.
Can't wait for the Brexit good news:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41803604
I realise that some think the financial services sector is too large but the more responsible way to deal with that would be to grow the rest of the economy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41803604
I realise that some think the financial services sector is too large but the more responsible way to deal with that would be to grow the rest of the economy
See the Norwegian border for how this could be streamlined.
This is true only if the UK issued visas for all EU visitors to the UK, and insisting on checking them at the border, which I think is extraordinarily unlikely - the queues at Dover would be impressive.
Information Analyst
Penultimate Amazing
Watched a particularly schizoid report on BBC Breakfast this morning, with British pig farmers bigging up the "opportunities" of Brexit, whilst simultaneously decrying the continuing lack of clarity on a trade deal with the EU....
One of the main arguments for Brexit was that we'd have control of our borders again. An open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland seems to go against that.
It's been a while since I've been to Dover but not that long since I used the Channel Tunnel. IIRC there were passport checks in both directions on the Channel Tunnel and I presume something similar for the ferries. OTOH if there is an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland then someone could easily go from one to the other without their bona fides being checked.
Whether visas are required or not (i.e. a visa waiver programme is in place), post-Brexit EU arrivals would, I assume, not be automatically granted indefinite leave to remain (or whatever it's called these days). That being the case then EU arrivals would have to be recorded and those who outstay their welcome, tracked down and deported. An open Ireland/Northern Ireland border would be a significant loophole.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy with a post-Brexit arrangement which allows the free movement of people - not least because it would significantly enhance the UK's chances of remaining in the EEA - but all those people who voted Brexit "because the country's full and all them Eastern Europeans is coming across here and taking our jobs" wouldn't be happy with an open border with the EU.
Brexit hasn't happened yet, or have you not noticed ?
The examples of poor forecasts you've provided so far completely ignored the u-turn he government took after the vote when it was all hands to the pumps to stave off recession. Even then, the forecast effects, increased inflation, rising cost of borrowing, decreasing inward investment, companies planning to move out of the UK are still happening.
OTOH good news has been very thin on the ground - hell the EU is even outperforming the UK in growth at the moment
Information Analyst
Penultimate Amazing
Prove this claimed imbalance.
Wudang
BOFH
You mean by joining the EEA and accepting the free movement of peoples etc?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area
Try this (leave supporting) Grauniad report for a start. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/05/chief-economist-of-bank-of-england-admits-errors
Nope the BBC doesn't do that, you've just made it up.
It's correct that the Bank of England incorrectly predicted a slowdown after the Brexit vote but to be fair to them, they didn't know that the Chancellor would abandon "Austerity" and announce another large tranche of quantitative easing in an (as it turns out successful) attempt to stave off a post-referendum recession.
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