The Irish backstop

Undoubtedly the government’s decision to hold a general election last year has been a key factor responsible for the current mess. The government’s gamble that the election would strengthen its hold over U.K. politics failed miserably, resulting in it being dependent on the vote of members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland to pass key legislation. It has wielded its power with relish, creating the most notoriously difficult issue at the heart of the negotiations, the Irish backstop. It is widely recognised that a frictionless border is absolutely essential between Northern Ireland (part of the U.K.) and the Republic of Ireland (the E.U. nation) and that a hard border must be avoided.

Thousands of people and vehicles move across the border seamlessly at the moment, enabling social and economic linkages regarded as vital to avoiding a return to the “Troubles”, or the Northern Ireland conflict. However, the DUP insists there can be no regulatory differences between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. (except on issues that it cherry-picks such as abortion rules), meaning that to achieve this, the whole of the U.K. would have to be bound by E.U. customs rules, which is of course out of the question for hard Brexiteers. The result of this had been the backstop solution—a means of ensuring that there will be no hard border even if no trade deal is agreed upon. But because it is by nature something of an insurance policy, the means of exiting the backstop are backed up by all sorts of conditions. This displeases the “hard” Brexiteers, some of whom resigned and most of whom have threatened to vote against the withdrawal agreement if it comes to Parliament in its current shape and form.