Yesterday in Parliament I raised the issues of trade friction between the GB and Northern Ireland again in the Commons. I will post my speech when it is available.
I was pleased that Michael Gove now accepts there are important issues to be sorted out and is engaged in talks with the EU, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Republic of Ireland. Maybe he can get an agreement to sort these matters. If not he will need to legislate urgently in the spirit of the EU’s acceptance that Northern Ireland is fully part of the UK’s single market and customs area to ensure the smooth flow of trade between GB and N0rthern Ireland. Our border officials need to know that goods destined to flow between different parts of the UK should pass as easily as between London and Surrey when it comes to excise, VAT and goods checks. The idea that there would be lots of people seeking to evade goods checks into the Republic by routing things through Northern Ireland and claiming them to be UK domestic trade is wrong. Most of the trade we are talking about is large supermarkets supplying their stores in Northern Ireland, or deliveries by Trusted traders and large hauliers who wish to keep their privileged status and good record with the authorities.
I did not vote for the EU/Uk Agreement because I had worries both about N0rthern Ireland and fish which I highlighted in the debate. These remain real issues and need urgent attention to tackle them.
February 4, 2021
Good morning
So our kind host feels that after four and a half years the UK and the EU need to sit down and work out the situation regarding NI.
Words fail me.
February 4, 2021
Indeed, London to Surrey but without the traffic lights.
Putting up false borders won’t work.
The answer is clear. Put a free trade zone throughout the island of Ireland with tax borders as they require them (we will not) between the island and the UK and EU separately.
February 4, 2021
Totally agree. A shabby cobbled together sell out by Gove lying that it would have no detrimental effect, has come home to roost.the justification that otherwise the Good Friday agreement would be at risk was a total sham as highlighted by Lord Trimble.
If it is because rules are being followed, why were they there in the first place? If the EU had not acted as it did re the vaccine, would HMG now be taking action, I think not because Arlene Foster explained the problems from day one.
A complete disgrace.
February 4, 2021
+1
Nigel, you are correct Lord Trimble did warn them and write articles about it.
But so did the DUP. May and Johnson made promises to the DUP and broke them! They sold out the nation. How could that ever be a price worth paying? EU threatening food supplies to N.Ireland during negotiation was a bit of a clue!
No reason why children should not go back to school. Intent on destroying their future making them state dependent and make them pay for it Govt.
Still Fake Tory Govt priorities are: climate change, promoting UN goals and gender neutrality!
February 4, 2021
But you said it was a great deal! âPeople you trustedâ, obviously you donât trust our kind host, said so. You castigated contributors to this site for ânegativityâ . Let me guess – you are Mr Gove!
February 4, 2021
Indeed, although it’s difficult to forget that it was Mr Gove, acting as an emissary, who led us into this catastrophe in the first place. The government had already identified serious issues and allowed for protections in the IMB, but the HOL were acting at their obstructive best and the EU ensured time had run out. It’s what the EU do, of course, but it’s our own feeble Parliament who nodded through the invitation for them to park their tanks on our lawns; in the case of NI, threateningly so. They need to correct their obvious mistake(s), as the “solutions” cobbled together in the Association Agreement, aka trade deal, are not fit for purpose. As you rightly point out, Mark B, after four and a half years, what on earth is there to talk about?!
February 4, 2021
Three years ago my approach was that the Irish government was being so unreasonable that it was not worth even trying to negotiate a new treaty with them and the rest of the EU.
http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2017/12/02/the-irish-border/#comment-904608
“When you have an Irish minister saying that they will not tolerate
âanything that would imply a border on the island of Irelandâ,
3 minutes in here:
https://news.sky.com/video/is-the-norway-sweden-border-a-solution-for-ireland-11141058
when itâs perfectly obvious to all that there already is, and for the foreseeable future there will continue to be, a border on the island of Ireland then there is really no point in any further discussions.”
February 4, 2021
I agree, Denis.
There is a common travel area between the two for people, but for goods, the border should be where it is in Ireland.
February 4, 2021
The only solution is a Hard Border between N and R Ireland OR N Ireland remains in the Single Market with Border between islands of Ireland and Britain.
Some commentators on this website are willing to let Scotland go (which I’m not) but don’t appear willing to allow N Ireland to remain in the Single Market even if it still in The United Kingdom.
Why is Northern Ireland not remaining in The Single Market so much more important than Scotland being able to leave the union if it wants to?
Don’t get the logic here.
February 6, 2021
From Professor Vernon Bogdanor today:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/05/solution-irish-border-problem/
“There is a solution to the Irish border dilemma”
And, the issue should be decided:
“… on the basis of which solution is fairest to the citizens of Northern Ireland, who are British taxpayers now deprived of their equal citizenship. That fundamental consideration points to a border on the island of Ireland, though checks need not actually take place on the border. It would be less onerous to administer than checks in the Irish Sea since Northern Irelandâs trade with Great Britain is so much greater than its trade with Ireland.â
February 4, 2021
Sneak in an unsatisfactory deal when nobody has time to examine it on Christmas Eve. Then get the media to claim it is a glorious success and keep your fingers crossed.
It did not take long for this deal to get found out.
It should be plain by now that we need to give notice that we are moving to WTO terms. The public anger is there to support this. We need to quickly resolve these unacceptable arrangements.
It is also possible, as many suggest, that this government is perfectly happy with an unsatisfactory fudge provided that it does not lead to embarrassing headlines.
February 4, 2021
But the EU/UK agreement had nothing to do with Casting Northern Ireland adrift. That was done by the Withdrawal Agreement. You voted for that
Reply I spoke at the time highlighting NI issues and was told it would be changed in the Future Relationship negotiations
February 4, 2021
It could only be changed if the EU agreed. Thats the whole point of international agreements. So you gave the EU a veto? Didnt you realise?
February 4, 2021
The WA has a sovereignty clause. Read it.
February 4, 2021
The WA does not have a sovereignty clause. The UK Act of Parliament has a sovereignty clause. Being a UK Act of Parliament, it is irrelevant to the EU
Reply It is good binding law for the Uk now we are out
February 4, 2021
Len, It takes two to make an agreement.
February 4, 2021
Correct, it was not the trade agreement, as I hope to point out below.
February 4, 2021
So the government âliesâ in its response which is meekly accepted?
February 4, 2021
Ah, but you forcefully wrote here you had done your homework. So nativity does not cut the mustard. If your govt could sell out the DUP and break its promises by comparison you would be insignificant. Like Johnson you capitulated.
February 4, 2021
If it hadn’t been for Johnson, Brexit wouldn’t have won. He tipped the balance ultimately with his blond-haired wit and charm.
February 4, 2021
Exactly, Boris should never have given the EU the rights to annex a part of the UK in this very damaging way. This is yet another huge negative for the UK economy to bear, yet more grit in the lubricant put there by largely parasitic government(s). This on top of the now hugely counterproductive lockdown, taxes at the highest level for 70 years, a hugely wasteful and bloated government, the pointless and idiotic war on plant food, expensive intermittent energy for no valid reason, a second rate NHS (cancer diagnosis of cases down by 32,000 in 2020 for example) and the damage to childrenâs education. So how many extra of these will now die due to later or non diagnosis and thus delayed treatments or no treatment.
February 4, 2021
Johnson was dealt an excellent hand of opportunities including fracking, WTO deal and public goodwill over Brexit. He has blown them all, destroyed the economy and is no leader. Get rid.
February 4, 2021
Spot On
February 4, 2021
The highest taxes for 70 years and yet still we are to have new carbon taxes with higher prices for meat, cheese and gas to rise – as proposed by Boris/Sunak. Presumably to help pay the HS2 (which will of course produce vaste amounts of CO2 in construction) and is of no net value anyway. HS2 even more absurd post Covid than if was before. Higher taxes should do wonders for the recovery, rather like shooting a man with a broken leg in the other leg.
Vote Conservative – for our expensive energy, the pointless war on plant food, daft grand projects, evermore red tape and our consistent tax, borrow and piss down the drain agenda. Is this to be the Tory manifesto for (May?) 2024?
This plus we will protect the dire, failed NHS state monopoly! One of the very worse systems for such a developed nation (as we have seen in 2020 and will see even more in 2021). NHS waiting list to hit 10 million this year it seems. This even after all the “massaging” of the figures that goes on.
February 4, 2021
Yes. +1
And I thought that the supposed reason for this damaging over-reaction to a virus was so the government would not have blood on its hands.
What about all the blood you mention?
But then, there are some who feel that population is the problem. A sort of barrier to the beloved greencrap.
February 4, 2021
Boris was given a majority of 80 to give the EU the rights to annex a part of the UK. That was and is the oven ready deal. Don’t you believe in democracy?
February 4, 2021
Grey, Boris agreed to the terms before the general election which gave him an 80 seat majority. He was forced into that position because of the continuity Remain campaign in Parliament to overturn our 2016 Referendum victory. And Remain very nearly succeeded. Having got rid of the Remain Parliament, I agree he should have ditched his verbal agreement (as the EU had already ditched theirs) and gone for WTO. It was easy to see that the EU was simply being vindictive and bullying, and is no friend of ours.
February 4, 2021
@lifelogic
Again you repeat âtaxes highest for 70 yearsâ. Any figures to back that up?
February 4, 2021
The five-year average tax burden is already at a 70-year high, according to analysis by the Taxpayers Alliance.
Plus we have more red tape than ever and market rigging in energy prices, healthcare, education etc. and back door taxation too with endless motorist muggings, landlord muggings, endless licence charges and the likes on top.
February 4, 2021
Which is why the sensible thing to do was have a proper Brexit PLAN before the referendum (with a proper leader – and with a proper, positive vision of why Sovereignty is great as opposed to how awful the EU is – which it is to a degree).
If you went into your local bank and said you wanted money to set up a small business, the bank would rightly ask for a proper business PLAN. But no such real plan was offered to the British people by Boris, the face and charm of Brexit, as he had no plan. Never done a business plan in his life.
We’re now simply paying the price of not having a proper plan in the first place. I want Sovereignty to be a success (plus the country voted for it – and we have to get on with it) but people are still sticking their heads in the sand about ignoring the plan – and instead trying to blame everyone – Boris (who effectively tipped the balance to winning the referendum) to the EU (which is partly to blame, yes, but not completely) – when we first need to address the issue of having a proper PLAN – to proceed properly.
Otherwise Brexit could just turn into a Dad’s Army charade but with serious consequences for our country.
February 4, 2021
Ed M
Be fair Ed when has Westminster over the last few years properly planned for anything?
When you look at the calibre of some of those condemned to the back benches its enough to make you weep
Change has got to happen we aren’t the road to nowhere.
February 4, 2021
@turboterrier
‘Change has got to happen we arenât the road to nowhere’
– I think that will only happen when we pay politicians and, in particular, those in government a proper wage. Prime Minister should be on at least x 3 as much. And that we challenge the media, in some way, to show more respect to politicians, instead of being so cynical towards politicians.
This would then attract far higher-calibre politicians to Parliament (and I say that as a Tory supporter of course).
I can’t see any other way?
February 4, 2021
You forget that David Cameron forbade any contingency planning.
February 5, 2021
There WAS a plan. Frictionless trade, exact same benefits, cash for farmers, fishers and NHS, no change in Ireland, great trade deals with US, NZ etc. Problem is, it was a totally unrealistic plan, undeliverable. As we have spent over 4 and a half years finding out. Weâd be better off if the Brexiters had said, look, this will not be easy. But then they would have lost the referendum
February 4, 2021
Northern Ireland hung out to dry but that’s the British political class for you. Their hate for the nation they control is disturbing and that hate transcends all parties and all State organisations
February 4, 2021
Writing in a column for the London Evening Standard, Mr Osborne, the former British Chancellor of the excheqeur who served in David Cameron’s cabinet, said that Northern Ireland is “slowly becoming part of a united Ireland”. Furthermore, he said, people in England and abroad “will not care”.
The consequences of Brexit, and the DUP’s “stupid” decision not to back Theresa May’s deal which would have avoided the North being treated differently to the rest of the UK, means that “Northern Ireland is heading for the exit door”.
“By remaining in the EU single market,” Mr Osborne wrote, “it is for all economic intents and purposes now slowly becoming part of a united Ireland. Its prosperity now depends on its relationship with Dublin (and Brussels), not London. The politics will follow. ” For once I actually agree with him!
February 4, 2021
What ever you think about Mr Osbourne he is right on this.
I agree with him as well.
But it will be a very expensive project for RoI.
February 4, 2021
@DOM: I wouldn’t say “hate”. I think Boris’s attitude is one of complete, cavalier disregard and contempt for Britain and the British people. He is also cowardly in dealing with his enemies, both at home (the left-wing media and the judiciary) and abroad (the EU, China, etc), and very stupid (look at the flaws in his treaties which he didn’t foresee (despite being warned of them), or his green agenda, or HS2, Hinckley C, etc). That’s my analysis, anyway; if others have an alternative view I would be happy to hear it.
February 4, 2021
Something sensible from the BBC for once:- Covid: The devastating toll of the pandemic on children
Nick Triggle, Health correspondent.
A Bristol University report suggests over 560,000 extra deaths will be caused just by the huge economic damage caused lock down.
February 4, 2021
I do hope our ministers donât come home with their tale between their legs, like Mr Cameron. If the Irish Sea border and the Fishing is not sorted we will struggle at the next election. I think we have already lost the northern communities that must feel a sense of betrayal. Still it is early days. It is odd that these two issues are playing into the hands of those that want the breakup of the Union. The Scottish fishermen seem particularly angry. The UK demise, I believe is the EUâs ultimate aim and punishment. Before the EU self destruction. Letâs hope our ministers succeed.
February 4, 2021
It was always obvious to the man in the street that Brussels would do anything to frustrate Britain, it’s just the poor quality leaders we have who don’t see these things.
All Boris is doing is preparing the ground for Nigel.
February 4, 2021
Farage has zero chance apart from maybe a bit of meddling. If you think otherwise you need to get out more.
February 4, 2021
@Nig l: Farage will take votes off the Tories (such as mine!!) and by doing so will force them to eventually see reason. That’s what he did very successfully over Brexit, and what I hope he will do again.
February 4, 2021
Lords Lawson and King said from the outset the EU cannot give a good or fair deal. If it did no country would stay in the EU!
February 4, 2021
Well Nigel only has the power to put Starmerâs Labour wagged by the SNP in!
To be fare to Boris he did very well to rescue the party from the appalling mess created for him by Heath, Wilson, Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron/Clegg and perhaps worst of all May. He also has to suffer Queen Carrie.
Having said that he clearly now too has a duff compass full of green crap and endless tax borrow and piss down the drain lunacy.
February 4, 2021
I have a book that ‘Queen’ Carrie and Boris may wish to add to their bedtime reading! It’s about the Climate Change delusion and how we have been conned. It’s by Professor Ian Plimer, for anyone who is interested.
February 4, 2021
exactly.
February 4, 2021
Well from a report in the Times you will soon have something else to worry about . Johnson wants to add a carbon tax on top of the price of the meat and cheese you eat and the gas you need to heat your home. He is nuts. The Conservative party needs to be rid of him before it destroys it in time for the next election.
February 4, 2021
We have another 4 years of Boris and this new tory green party taxing us to death and coming up with loony green ideas…..âWill no one rid me of this turbulent priest!â
February 5, 2021
I agree with your assessment and this party member will start agitating for Johnson’s removal the second we’re allowed to go to meetings again.
February 4, 2021
I’m glad that you’re on the case, Sir John. The reporting on R5L this morning gave the impression that the EU thinks the NIP is good enough not to change and that HMG won’t be kicking up a stink on the matter. I have yet to see any reporting of a widespread groceries-smuggling operation running southwards across the border. The NIP needs urgent rewriting. Boris is talking tough and now needs to act tough.
February 4, 2021
Oh come on. He always capitulates. Jellyfish Johnson wants popularity not concessions from the EU. He is still polishing the turd he talked about years ago!
February 4, 2021
The last century should teach Westminster not to impose policy against the Irish.
Good to hear customs checks have been suspended at Larne and Belfast. Don’t even think of starting them again; the loyalists won’t wear it.
February 4, 2021
So you finally accept that your brexit is causing exactly the problems that the Remain campaigns patiently and repeatedly explained that it would prior to the referendum.
That’s progress of a sort, I suppose.
However, your claim that you did not vote for the agreement means only that you were in favour of worse and more numerous problems instead, I think, John.
Reply No, in favour of a better answer
February 4, 2021
Ridiculous assertion. We don’t see any need for additional borders. We have the same legal regime as does Ireland on all matters that we did on 31 December. If the EU wants to put up borders on their own territory then fine by me. Don’t mess with our territory. I’m not sure how May and this government caved in on this.
February 4, 2021
Yes, you forecast that the EU was a bully. And your advice is âThe EU is a bully so you have to put up with being bulliedâ.
My advice is the advice most people give when dealing with bullies. You have to âstand up to themâ.
Iâve gone from someone whose pencil hovered over the ballot paper thinking âam I really going to do this?â – terribly reluctant to leave but feeling that a big Leave vote might slow down the EUâs political domination ambition (but never expecting Leave to win) – to someone who simply thinks âstuff the EUâ.
February 4, 2021
Could you talk us through why you thought the UK leaving would change the EU? If you host a party and someone walks out and slams the door behind them because they don’t like the music, would you change the music?
Inside the EU the UK was able to help choose the music. Now we can only hear it, outside and with Brexit red tape slaughtering our economy. You were warned
February 4, 2021
Am I alone in thinking that it would be helpful if every Conservative MP spent a day on the ‘front-line’ with our Customs staff in Belfast to see, first-hand, the lunacy that Whitehall policy has inflicted on intra-UK trade.
February 4, 2021
Correction – the lunacy that Leave voters have inflicted…etc.
February 4, 2021
Correction – the lunacy the EU imposed and our spineless government accepted.
February 4, 2021
Please dont confuse the MPs with the facts
February 4, 2021
Surely you mean Theresa May’s and Ollie Robbin’s policy?
February 4, 2021
Wrong â Our Commander and Chief is Boris
February 4, 2021
The current situation was not May’s policy. May’s policy, which John Redwood voted against, would have not created the current situation as it was a UK-wide backstop, not an NI-only backstop.
Once John Redwood and the rest of the ERG voted down May’s deal, there were only two alternatives left – the arrangements we have now or physical border infrastructure between the North and the Republic in Ireland.
Reply Not so. We proposed a system which did not entail lots of new physical checks at the NI/RoI border.
February 4, 2021
@Peter Parsons: You are forgetting the third, best, alternative: No border either in the Irish Sea OR on land between North and South. Yes, that would mean the EU would have to stop being so prissy about their single market, but given the tiny amount of seepage across the border they would have worn it (with bad grace, as usual). They could have bult a border themselves, of course, but I doubt it. In any event, we had no need to do so.
February 4, 2021
The technology for that had never been promulgated – like cold fusion – however.
It was a fantasy.
February 4, 2021
Well, maybe not every MP but the Northern Ireland Secretary for sure.
Mr Johnson needs to get tougher, reciprocal rules on fish and on goods from Ireland to the UK until they sort this out.
February 4, 2021
Afraid this is what happens when you start shifting borders, you do not solve the problem, you just move the problem to a different place.
February 4, 2021
And greatly magnify it, at least in terms of the volume of goods to be checked when entering Northern Ireland by sea and air in order to ensure that the small fraction of those goods which are destined for the Republic will all conform to EU standards. Technically every wisp of Scottish hay landed at Larne should be checked in case it ends up being taken south of the border, it could be ‘at risk’ of that, potentially contaminating the EU Single Market. Of course we could have a UK law saying that nobody is permitted to transport hay across the border into the Republic without an export licence, which they could lose if they were found to be abusing it, and that system would affect far fewer people and much less hay, but that might be too sensible.
February 4, 2021
Well, exactly Denis.
February 4, 2021
It seems odd than a land as green as Eire imports bay. Surely it canât be worth transporting the stuff by road, sea and road.
February 4, 2021
A certain amount is both imported and exported.
February 4, 2021
This is all part of the EU trying to punish us for leaving, by using stupid interpretations of reasonable rules and regulations as illustrated by the South coast fisherman yesterday. For a long time he has been landing his catch of shell fish in France and now it is being refused entry on the grounds that it is live and must be opened and examined by a vet!!!!! This rule was for horses, sheep etc not a fresh catch from the seabed.
We should ban ALL EU boats from taking shell fish from our waters until they return to being reasonable and the same sort of tactic should be applied to trade with Northern Ireland
February 4, 2021
It’s not punishment. It’s being treated as a third country, which is what many Leavers said they wanted the UK to be.
February 4, 2021
Peter
Likewise the EU is either a group of third Countries to us, or is a single third Country which also is an EU member.
Thought this was supposed to be about Co-operation and good faith
The EU closing the borders albeit for a few hours should be warning enough that this is all rather one sided, they always want us to give, and they demand to take.
The vaccine row is another example.
I can see N Ireland Dumping this arrangement in 4 years time when I think it comes up for discussion again under the present Agreement terms
February 4, 2021
https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/george-eustice-says-eu-brexit-ban-on-live-shellfish-from-the-uk-is-legally-wrong-and-unjustified
“EU Ban On Live Shellfish From The UK Is “Legally Wrong” And “Unjustified”, George Eustice Says”
February 4, 2021
Intrestingly in the same article Rob Benson, director of Cumbria-based seafood company Kingfisher Seafoods blames “the government for failing to communicate the consequences of Brexit to the industry, telling PoliticsHome: âThis is not a teething issue, this is the government removing all our teeth and leaving us unable to eat.
“This is not new EU policy. This has always been there. This is the government not doing their job to safeguard the industryâ.”
I bet Mr Benson knows export/import rules better than Mr Eustice.
But what else can you expext? Reportedly our finshing minister did not even read the Trade Agreement since she was too busy fixing Christmas party..
February 5, 2021
I can’t remember any Leaver arguing that trade across the Irish border was more important to the Northern Irish than intra-UK trade. What should we do? Gather the evidence of wholly unacceptable intra-UK trade restrictions, work out which ones must be removed, dust off Lord Frost and send him to back to Brussels to work out solutions. If Brussels won’t play ball, invoke Article 16.
February 4, 2021
Ps. Gove was weak and crumbled once again to Southern Ireland being prepared to sell out the North. It is only now he thinks he has political cover to get what he should have in the first place.
February 4, 2021
I’ve just heard on BBC Breakfast that:
“The UK and the EU have said they will work hard to resolve concerns about the impact of the Brexit trade on Northern Ireland.”
Which reminded me of the sort of things that were said after the Irish people voted down the Lisbon Treaty, which actually led to no long term substantive changes just to a small helping of fudge to help get the treaty voted through the second time round.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:22013A0302(01)&rid=4
“PROTOCOL on the concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon”
You will see that to our shame the UK was a willing party to that trickery.
I do not like to hear the word “betrayed” on the lips of another Ian Paisley:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-02-03/debates/2177E714-0248-4F3B-BE41-6EC94D176060/Engagements#contribution-AFC65CD0-93C6-4E28-8DCA-DB0FD7192FDD
February 4, 2021
Correction: “… the impact of the Brexit trade deal …”
February 4, 2021
Sir John
The deal that was struck was primarily because all the large companies wanted a deal at any price.
No good them now complaining because where a lot of people are for what is happening, we could been just as well off with WTO rules.
The problem we have is been around for years. Where is the leader who takes over the room the minute their presence is felt? Where is the experienced street wise politicians with a similar presence running the key departments?
This country cannot carry on as it is going. Too many fundamental mistakes are being made on a daily basis and the cost in real terms let alone waste are totally untenable. The party has less then four years to get its A into G and assemble a team with the experience , respect and determination to move this country forward. I would suggest that should be number one on the agenda of Conservative Central Office on a daily basis until it is sorted. The lemming like charge to obscurity has to be altered. If it means a night of the long knives so be it. Enough is enough.
February 4, 2021
But is there the quality to take over from the present crowd? Yesterday’s PMQs was cringeworthy. If only Boris would answer the questions rather than waffle – even the Speaker had to get him back on topic. Laughable if it were not so seriously sad. Can you really see this Tory lot getting us out of the many obstacles that lie ahead?
February 4, 2021
Wasn’t NI made a solom promise that it wouldn’t be treated any different from the rest of the UK? Is it any wonder that politicians aren’t trusted?
February 4, 2021
How is it in keeping with the Good Friday Agreement to have a border in the Irish Sea?
Goods moving from England to Eire and vice versa will either be legal or illegal. It is up to trading standards and customs in those countries to check the validity of goods as it is at the moment within the EU single market.
Nothing has changed it is still illegal to sell non-compliant goods. (Horsemeat anyone?)
February 4, 2021
This certainly needs addressing, but there are other issues relating to the BREXIT agreement that will impose further difficulties on the UK. Not least of these are the difficulties the EU is exploiting in regards to our exports to EU countries. Why are our exporters having all this trouble when there seems to be no such problems with goods entering Britain from the EU?
Fishing will be an ongoing source of trouble.
Should any of that settle down, and should the UK start taking advantage of our new found freedoms, we will then see the EU invoking the dozen or so committees of fairness, to complain that we are being unfair to the EU in what we are doing as they move to constrain our potential.
It seems that the Brexit agreement was never fully fit for purpose.
February 4, 2021
The Eu has clearly told us this ‘agreement’ is no better than 3rd Countries are treated so we need to be given a list of advantages of this ‘agreement’ that wouldn’t be there without it.
February 4, 2021
Yes. The fairness is a lawyers delight we can look forward to.
February 4, 2021
I read Gove’s letter. Seems to me he is handling it quite well, telling the EU to make things run more smoothly for UK-NI trade otherwise he’ll invoke protocol 16 to remove the UK-NI “border”. At that point the EU would presumably have to put in a hard border Ireland-NI but at this moment they politically can’t do that given last week’s events. Also in 2024 NI can vote to junk the protocol anyway and the EU (presumably) don’t want that. Let’s see how it plays out.
Elsewhere, having told us for four years that any fishing benefit from Brexit is irrelevant as fishing is such a small part of GDP, Remainers are now outraged a few shellfish exporters will have to install purification tanks if they want to export to the EU, despite shellfish being an even tinier part of GDP. And in the middle of that Andy told us all to become vegetarians to keep Greta happy anyway, so all fishermen will lose their jobs. They are confused people.
February 4, 2021
From last September:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40044929.html
“‘Absolutely no chance’ of border coming back says MicheĂĄl Martin”
“MicheĂĄl Martin has insisted there is no danger of a border returning on the island of Ireland, despite the high risk of a no-trade deal Brexit occurring.”
Once again, the Irish government fiction that at present there is no border on the island of Ireland.
February 4, 2021
This is nonsense. So do foreign fishing vessels landing shell fish from British waters have them turned back on landing them in Europe? It’s just petty vindictive behaviour and we should instruct our border people to be as petty back.
February 4, 2021
Boris Johnson, yesterday:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-02-03/debates/2177E714-0248-4F3B-BE41-6EC94D176060/Engagements#contribution-0C934996-A6F5-4C7F-A544-88EC0CC8C560
“We think it is very important that the protocol should not place unnecessary barriersâor barriers of any kindâdown the Irish sea. As I said to a colleague earlier, I think it was most unfortunate that the EU seemed to want to impose a barrier across the island of Ireland. We seek to make sure there are no such barriers down the Irish sea.”
Then why has his government produced this long and complex publication:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/moving-goods-into-out-of-or-through-northern-ireland
“Moving goods into, out of, or through Northern Ireland”
Which I came across through a link in this long and complex document:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/949579/December_BordersOPModel__2_.pdf
“The border with the European Union”
“Importing and Exporting Goods”
I would point out that in this case the relevant border with the European Union is the land border on the island of Ireland, and while the EU and the Irish government have a perfectly legitimate interest in the nature of the goods crossing it from north to south and so entering their territory and their single market they have no legitimate interest at all in what goods are allowed to circulate in any part of the UK, including those goods that are allowed to enter Northern Ireland from anywhere, be that from the rest of the UK or the rest of the world.
As I have said repeatedly, for example here:
http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2018/09/21/the-eu-is-more-preoccupied-with-migration-than-with-brexit/#comment-962198
they should just mind their own business.
February 4, 2021
If borderless travel and trade are ok for France, they should be ok for the UK including Northern Ireland and for the Republic of Ireland. There are parts of France that are ‘overseas’, i.e. not physically attached to mainland European France, but they are still viewed as part of France, with EU and Eurozone membership. One, Guyane (French Guiana), has land borders with its neighbours but no evident imposition of border checks and impediments between them, nor of any difficulty in trade with mainland France. So, why not do as our French friends do in their territories? Remove restrictions on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
February 4, 2021
I made this very point many years ago.
February 4, 2021
So let me see if I can get this straight- Mrs May proposed UK staying in the EU customs and single market for convenience sake which was roundly rejected by Parliament. Then Boris comes and proposes putting the border in the Irish Sea which was accepted in the Protocol and signed off only six weeks ago and now the bold Boris is threatening to ditch the whole thing in favour of what?- and as we have not even started to talk about Services equivalency with them especially for finance banking and insurance- would love to know where are we going with all of this- is there a plan?
February 4, 2021
The Tory party at the next election will be remembered for 2 things
1. Creating a border down the middle of the Irish Sea and throwing NI adrift
2. Stabbing the fishing industry in the back
February 4, 2021
Alas, most people donât give a toss about Ireland or the fishing industry. Neither of these things will be a factor in the next election.
February 4, 2021
and continuing with HS2 in economic disaster, getting toyed with by China, very slow action over evident pandemic only mitigated by swift vaccine orders. Being led by changing ‘scientist opinions’ just like a bull being pulled by the ring in its nose. Getting tossed around like a rag doll by the EU officials.
And plent more…
February 4, 2021
forgot to add
3. immigration and the farce of the english channel
February 4, 2021
The problem we have is not the ‘Trade and Cooperation Agreement’, it is the ‘NI Protocol’ contained within ‘The Withdrawal Agreement’. This lunacy was agreed to by the previous PM and the present PM was unable to remove it without breaking the Manifesto commitment, a commitment that needed to be honoured because of the mandate given to hime by the electorate, evidenced by a large majority in Parliament.
I say lunacy because the nature of the border between NI and the Republic is not even mentioned in the ‘Belfast Agreement’ that I have read. Lord Trimble was right and nobody seems to take any notice.
If Parliament and others had honoured the Art.50 process in the manner in which they had approved the holding of the referendum we would not be in this mess now.
February 4, 2021
Theresa May said she would NEVER accept a border between NI and GB, and she didn’t. Boris took her job, and promptly sold NI down the river by accepting the Protocol. Blame the right people for this mess.
February 4, 2021
Theresa May would never accept properly leaving the EU either. Dancing on the head of a pin could be injurious.
February 4, 2021
BTW. Have you noticed how expensive these devolved countries are to own and run?
Region and ÂŁ Spend per Head.
Northern Ireland 11,987
Scotland 11,566
Wales 10,929
London 10,835
North East 10,285
North West 10,204
UK (average) 9,895
England (average) 9,604
West Midlands 9,570
Yorkshire and the Humber 9,401
South West 9,193
East 8,991
South East 8,919
East Midlands 8,879
February 4, 2021
I wonder if your average Westminster-Waller, like the PM, will ever grasp that it is less humiliating, less costly, more expedient to get things right the first time.
Here we have the reincarnated Ted Heath on display and exposed yet again.
Tiresome!
February 4, 2021
This is what is said in the guardian to discuss issues/problems with the Irish border.
“It is understood that a new specialised committee, mandated under the Brexit deal, will be quickly set up and will convene in the next two weeks to thrash out a solution. A signoff is expected at a meeting of the UK-EU joint committee, which Gove and Ć efÄoviÄ pencilled in for mid-March”.
It says it will be quickly set up within the next 2 weeks, now most people will agree to me that waiting for 2 weeks isn’t quickly setting things up. This is the problem with the government , too slow to get up and running. We have the problems now .”
February 4, 2021
You read The Guardian?
February 4, 2021
Sir John, Can’t you see how absurd and deceitful the government’s position on NI is? Can’t you see they are treating you for a fool? The government claims that the problems are due to the EU and that they need to discuss the interpretation and administration of the Protocol with the EU to agree changes. But this is NONSENSE. Who is physically stopping eels from going from NI to GB? Who is physically stopping seed potatoes and plants from going from GB to NI? Who is physically delaying food moving from GB to NI for EIGHT days? Answer: the British border guards. And who is giving them their instructions? Answer: their employers: the British government.
It is BRITISH officials, directly under the control of BRITISH ministers, who gave the orders for all these restrictions. Nobody from the EU physically moved the hands of these British officials and ministers as they wrote or typed those instructions!!! So all ministers now need to do is interpret the Protocol differently and issue different instructions. This can all be done UNILATERALLY and IMMEDIATELY.
You don’t need to actually change the Protocol, or the TCA, in any way. You just change your interpretation of it, and the way you choose to implement it. For instance, the Protocol says that checks must be made on those goods that are “at risk” of entering the EU single market. Fine, by how to decide which goods are at risk of doing so? Answer: you simply ask the companies moving goods to self-declare. You adopt an ‘honesty box’ system. Those that declare their goods are going to the EU get checked, and the rest move through without ANY documentation or checks whatsoever. That would meed the literal requirement of the Protocol. So that’s all you need to do.
Reply There are a number of ways of fixing the issues which the government knows about.
February 4, 2021
Reply to Sir JR: Yes, I’ve no doubt the government does know ways to fix the problem – we ALL do. But the government isn’t actually DOING any of these things!!! They are just talking. Talk, talk, talk. Promises, promises, promises. Always jam tomorrow. Why doesn’t the government take action NOW, unilaterally? The EU has zero interest in resolving the problem. On the contrary, they revel in it and gloat about it. If the government want EU approval that proves that we are NOT free from EU control, and we will NEVER fully solve the problems. What happened to UK independence, sovereignty and ‘taking back control’??? We have all been betrayed by Boris Johnson.
February 4, 2021
spot on
February 4, 2021
Yes, we’re a sovereign country and this shouldn’t be difficult, just tell the border guards not to.
February 4, 2021
It seems to me that this flawed Irish Protocol is causing tension and risks escalating the troubles, which its creators argued was the very reason for not having the border on the island of Ireland where it rightly belongs.
All we hear is talk from this Government. They were warned about the flaws in this so-called trade agreement and the Withdrawal Agreement but in their rush to implement it before the deadline they sold out NI and our fishing community. I have lost all confidence in their ability to sort this mess out. They keep calling the EU our friends and partners, they are anything but.
February 4, 2021
There is now an e-petition:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/573209
“Trigger Article 16. We want unfettered GB-NI Trade.
Her Majesty’s Government must immediately remove any impediment or barrier to unfettered trade within the United Kingdom.
After just one month, Northern Ireland is suffering real economic and societal difficulties as a consequence of the Northern Ireland Protocol operating and creating new barriers to unfettered trade within the United Kingdom and disrupting supply lines of goods to Northern Ireland.
The Government should use all the powers it has to move urgently to protect UK trade and to ensure all UK goods and produce can freely flow to and from every part of the United Kingdom.”
I note this:
https://www.rte.ie/news/brexit/2021/0204/1194947-ni-protocol/
“Commission to seek reassurances over staff safety”
“The European Commission is to seek further reassurances from authorities in Northern Ireland over the safety of EU customs and veterinary staff working at ports there, following reports of intimidation and graffiti near the ports.”
and think that if the Commission is really that worried they should not object to the UK government acting to avert problems by triggering Article 16, and also that there is little point begging the EU for extensions to grace periods if the protocol is still going to be as dangerously flawed in 2013 as it is now.
February 4, 2021
Too complicated.
If the process is stupid and unworkable, ignore it.
Business first, bureaucracy last.
February 4, 2021
The flip side of restoring UK sovereignty is that the EU now has to use trade restrictions and non-tariff barriers in order to try to impose its will. That’s legal, so long as they do not violate FTA, NIP and WTO rules, but we need to know what game we are in, and not assume that our friends and allies are our friends and allies, or anything silly like that.
February 4, 2021
As the saying goes: “countries don’t have friends – they interests”. Henry Kissinger
February 6, 2021
Kissinger nicked that from others, eg Lord Palmeston – âEngland has no eternal friends, England has no perpetual enemies, England has only eternal and perpetual interestsâ.
Don’t blindly punish enemies and reward allies rather act and treat countries appropriately to further our just interests, “allies” are not always friendly while “enemies” can sometimes be friends.
The question is, what is the role and intent of British government and establishment towards England’s interests.
February 4, 2021
There are many sincere comments today, but the reality is that the WA and the FTA are about the power each side exerts through trade. We got to the current NIP via a trade-off, trade versus sovereignty. Sovereignty is power, but so is trade.
We got lucky that the EU blundered so badly last weekend and accidentally brought clarity to a previously obscured issue, but we are really where we started, namely how much power were we willing to give the EU, in order to have trade.
You cannot demand a re-write of the NIP and then expect everything else to remain the same. It’s a complex system, meaning that if one part changes, so do other parts. Were I Gove, I would suggest a good faith third party partner to administer the NIP day by day, including negotiating changes to the Protocol.
February 5, 2021
Excellent points Jon. The NIP is not going to be changed, unless it suits both parties. What’s in it for the EU to change? I hear Arlene Foster saying she wants it scrapped, she never says what should replace it. John Redwood tells us it can all be done electronically, he never tells us where in the world there exists a border between two different countries with different laws, product standards and tariffs which is electronic (because there isn’t one, the tech doesn’t exist). As ever the Brexiters never offer anything realistic, they just shout angrily from the sidelines. The NIP is a mess but it is a compromise that makes the best of a very bad job – the very bad job, sold on a false prospectus, that is Brexit itself
Reply Like the NI/ROI border an excise,vat anD currency border when we were in eU