Important thread. Key points are that there are months needed to work out the detail of the customs compromise being discussed, and unclear how you establish the base for these talks, and for the subsequent months and years to build the system, plus...
The idea of Northern Ireland giving ongoing consent is fraught with the question, what if they don't... and the future UK-EU relationship is crucial, and if zero tariffs and quotas will also be a tough negotiation.
In theory the solution offers the chance for the UK to make our own trade deals. In practice, it may be very difficult to do so while all this is being discussed, and not impossible to see end state of, as per the original deal, a UK-EU Customs Union.
So the deal may in theory be acceptable to all sides, but in practice may turn into something the ERG and DUP havce consistently argued against. Big moment then for the ERG - compromise now, or as others have said, chances of no-Brexit increase.
NB I don't think this was the grand Johnson masterplan all along, just the nature of the problem catching up with him as it did with May. His team thought it could be different, but they probably face a similar choice, albeit with a few fudges from the EU... /end
