Re: Britain outside the EU
 

"Not sure about that" is an under statement. We couldn't have walked away with no deal as it would have breached the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The deal we negotiated was a hard Brexit that did not represent the country's feeling. It's not just about the spectrum of views of the 52% it's about the 100%. Norway had a similar outcome so decided not to join the EU but went for the very close relationship instead. I'm not saying we should have copied Norway but finding something that was more representative of the desire of the UK population as a whole and not of the more extreme right wing of the Conservative Party would have been beneficial. As it is, we'll move that way over time but at a higher economic cost than being there in the first place.
https://www.norway.no/en/missions/eu...ical-overview/

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Are you talking about the Northern Ireland Protocol or the Good Friday Agreement?

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

No, it would have been an act of Ireland as a signatory of the Treaty of Lisbon. There seems to be a misunderstanding here of what the European Union is. The EU can only act with the agreement of the member states. The whole being ruled from Brussels only happens with the consent of the member states and every law and regulation needs the agreement of usually both the Parliament and the nation heads of state.

The EU, having competence over things like customs and standards (again, with the agreement of the nation state of Ireland) paid due regard to Irelands position as a signator of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, hence the fudge of the Northern Ireland protocol agreed by all parties

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

No, it isn’t - that is why I asked.

No trap - they are two separate things, and I’m not sure which you are referring to…

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Thank you for the clarification

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Ireland would have a choice of breaking one treaty or another. The EU courts could insist on Ireland closing the border or be suspended from the European Union but the power sharing authority of the Good Friday Agreement could insist on keeping the border open.

Luckily it didn’t come to it but Ireland had a stark choice - leaving the EU or risking the peace process in the North. I am not 100% convinced that peace in another country trumps EU membership. Any Irish politician suggesting leaving the EU wouldn’t be around that long

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

And putting another EU country in that bind would hardly lead to any sort of free trade deal being signed between the UK and EU. We would deservedly have been treated like a rogue state and paid the economic price.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Why are you making it so personal? The facts are the facts. You can disprove the points I have made and I welcome your attempts.

---------- Post added at 23:47 ---------- Previous post was at 23:38 ----------

Remember that the 'country" had no definitive feelings. There was a spectrum, ranging from ignorance to outright nationalist dogma, and everything in between.

The revisionists would have you believe there was a consensus for a hard Brexit but there was not. There was a consensus for nothing. "Leave the EU" was a smorgasbord of political options, a pick & mix if you will. What was definitive was the prediction of economic suicide which played out as predicted. Imposing economic sanctions on yourself is not a good option given the proximity of your major trading partner and the intricacies of global trade.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

This may be the trajectory in your world view but in the real world that was never going to happen.