Thread by @kevinhorourke

The key sentence in this piece for me is the very first one.
prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/free-…

Remember all those times UK commentators and politicians told us that the Irish border question was fiendishly complicated and impossible to fathom?

In fact the issues are incredibly simply.

Any undergraduate who has studied the basics of trade policy and understands the difference between a CU and an FTA could explain to you why you will always have border controls without a CU.

And anyone who remembers the "1992 programme" which gave us the Single Market understands that one of the major points of the SM was to create regulatory alignment, so as to remove the need for the border controls that still remained, CU or not.

And so it follows logically that to avoid border controls in IRL, NI has to effectively remain in the CU and SM for goods. This is not rocket science, folks.

And it also follows logically that if there are not to be controls in ports on goods passing between the islands of Britain and Ireland, Britain will also have to remain in the CU and SM for goods. Again, that is not rocket science.

The only issue then becomes whether GB (as opposed to NI) would be allowed to remain in the CU and SM for goods only. That seems unlikely, though the possibility always struck me as worth exploring. Especially since the EU runs a surplus in goods trade with the UK. But no matter.

Back to the main point: when it comes to the issue of avoiding border controls in Ireland, there is nothing at all fiendishly complicated about the question. It is in fact a fiendishly simple question.

It only becomes complicated if you try to avoid basic facts, logic, and necessary choices. Then the question does indeed become complicated, in much the same way as achieving levitation, or inventing a perpetual motion machine, is complicated.

While some UK commentators may enjoy getting in touch with their inner Heath Robinson, the rest of Europe has to live in the real world. Where the issues are relatively straightforward and unfudgable.