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Brexit and the Irish border issue... an analogy:
Think of the border as a piece of rope strung over a canal that flows between NI and the Republic. At the moment, there's nothing to impede the free passage of boats. The level of the canal is the same on both sides of the rope.
Think of the border as a piece of rope strung over a canal that flows between NI and the Republic. At the moment, there's nothing to impede the free passage of boats. The level of the canal is the same on both sides of the rope.
Same regulatory environment, same standards, etc., all derived from the EU. But after Brexit, the level of the water in NI will begin to change, unless the UK commits to locking itself permanently into exactly the same situation as Ireland's by tracking every change the EU makes.
But if the water level becomes different on one side of the rope and the other, you're going to need something much more sophisticated than a rope to keep the waterway open. You're going to need a lock. The lock's the hard border, with all its infrastructure and mechanisms.
You might say: "Well, I don't want a lock. I really really hate the idea of a lock." You can say what you like, but you can't defeat physics. The water level IS different and therefore you HAVE to either equalise the water level again, or put some physical accommodation in place.
Now, Ireland can never adjust its water level to that of NI's, because Ireland's water level is dependent on the whole of the EU. So it's our problem, and it needs to be our solution too. We're the ones demanding Brexit. Not Ireland. Not the EU.
There might one day be a technological solution. Who knows. But right now, there isn't - just like there isn't an alternative to a lock (or ship lift, or other *infrastructure*) on canals anywhere in the world.
So there are only two options:
A) Equalise the water
B) Build a lock
And anyone pretending there's a third is deluding themselves - and others.
A) Equalise the water
B) Build a lock
And anyone pretending there's a third is deluding themselves - and others.
And if "B) Build a lock" is something that can never be countenanced, well that leaves exactly one and only one option. The canal will be cut unless the water level stays equalised *forever*. The only way of guaranteeing that it will always stay equal is the backstop arrangement.
If in the future some sufficiently advanced technology* comes along, then - and only then - can the backstop arrangement be wound down. But we're not there yet. Not even close.
(*indistinguishable from magic - nod to Arthur C Clarke)
(*indistinguishable from magic - nod to Arthur C Clarke)
