@davidallengreen @StefaanDeRynck @andrew_lilico @CER_Grant @TomMcTague If I may...UK negotiators were told of the backstop idea on November 8 2017. It was the 6th bullet point of a Task Force working paper. It seemed “essential” that to avoid a hard border there wd have to be no divergence of the rules of the SM & CU etc.
@davidallengreen @StefaanDeRynck @andrew_lilico @CER_Grant @TomMcTague It wasn’t called a backstop then, and of course the UK was furious, with DD launching the “constitutional threat” narrative the next day (a narrative which remains unchanged). Then Dublin was furious because the GFA settles the constitutional issue.
@davidallengreen @StefaanDeRynck @andrew_lilico @CER_Grant @TomMcTague But it remained on the table right thru until Dec 4, when “no regulatory divergence” became “continued regulatory alignment”. Because London insisted an FTA & tech wd take care of the Irish border (despite the incredulity of Dublin & Brussels), the backstop became Option C.
@davidallengreen @StefaanDeRynck @andrew_lilico @CER_Grant @TomMcTague But then later became known as the backstop.
