The EU helped bring peace to Ireland. Will violence now return?

The 500^th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg is as good week as any to examine the power of sectarianism. Here in Britain we do not need to look far.

Northern Ireland ought to be in crisis because a hard Brexit will wreck its economy. The Republic exported €18bn-worth of services to the UK in 2014, and €11.4bn went back. In 2015, it exported €15.6bn of goods. Britain exported €18bn in return. Meanwhile millions from both countries crossed borders we fondly thought were now just lines on the map to see the sights as holidaymakers, or visit their friends, families and business partners.

If materialists from Marxists through to free-market conservatives were right, if economics did trump politics, the threat to the Northern Irish economy would have caused the current crisis in Northern Irish politics.  Party leaders in Belfast would be rushing to save jobs and protect living standards.