This was always going to happen (as many of us have been saying for a long time) telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/…
Whole UK customs deal was always going to be needed past 2020, because there's no hope of getting the infrastructure done in time.
And good politics to say to EU that we want a whole UK backstop. Makes EU say you must have an Irish Sea border because we won't split four freedoms.
That's because eliminating border checks in goods requires more than a customs union - it needs shared food and agriculture rules and other goods standards. EU opposes partial single market membership without free movement of people, ECJ jurisdiction.
But ultimately, the backstop is an insurance policy to prevent an Irish border being erected. The EU will say that the UK might choose to leave CU and partial SM later - the backstop has to be an island of Ireland only affair.
Still, this is the beginnings of a good negotiating position by the UK.
