After the DUP took issue with government’s handling of the Irish border question on Monday, Theresa May had to return home from her lunch with Jean-Claude Juncker empty-handed. What’s more, there’s no indication that a solution is in sight anytime soon. The DUP worry that the wording in the draft text – promising regulatory alignment in relation to the Good Friday agreement – could see Northern Ireland treated differently than the rest of the UK – and result in an Irish sea border. Meanwhile, some Brexiteers worry that agreeing regulatory alignment between the UK and Ireland could mean an end to the clean Brexit they envisaged.
So, one could be forgiven for thinking Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting must have been a tense affair. Instead, Coffee House understands it was rather muted. Only a handful of Cabinet ministers spoke – with the majority making the point that the integrity of the United Kingdom must not be compromised – meaning any regulatory alignment in Northern Ireland would have to be replicated in the rest of the UK.
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