Quote:
Originally Posted by BenMcr
Yes, it does. The get-out clause to the backstop is the 'alternative arrangements' that Boris says he already has but apparently hasn't told the EU what they are.
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Not sure if you’re wilfully misunderstanding the point, but Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty can be triggered unilaterally by any EU member state. The backstop provisions of the withdrawal treaty state that the backstop may only be exited by agreement of both the UK and the EU.
If the backstop were triggered, it would be entirely possible for the UK to be kept in a form of associate membership of the EU, yet without voting privileges or representation, simply by the EU’s refusal to allow us to leave. Given that these circumstances would most likely transpire in the middle of trade deal negotiations, there is a very clear and obvious incentive for the EU to hold the backstop over the UK government as a means of extracting concessions.
The backstop is absolutely absurd and intolerable to any sovereign democratic state.