Are We Entering A Crisis?

[Kromovaracun]

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/brexit-ireland-and-uk-agree-deal-on-border-but-dup-issues-warnings-on-terms-36377250.html

May has (allegedly) come to an agreement over NI which, according to a leaked draft, sees the province "maintaining regulatory alignment" (i.e. common market) with the Republic after Brexit.

In response, Arlene Foster - whose MPs are presently propping the government up - has stated that NI must leave the EU "on the same terms as the rest of the UK", and Nicola Sturgeon has on Twitter said that "If one part of the UK can retain regulatory alignment with the EU ... there is surely no good practical reason why others can't."

Is the UK about to enter a crisis?

[anneasquith]

Dct, SNP are the least of T Mays problem tonight, .

[jourdain2]

Has anyone considered that at, the last-moment, Spain is waiting to chuck Gibraltar into the pot? I'm pretty sure that I recall a take-over being a Spanish condition to accepting any agreement.

Seriously, the only way to go seems to me to be to reject all EU demands on Ireland (they will most probably insist on firm external borders anyway) and prepare for 'no deal'. Then individual countries and businesses will focus on how to make it work.

[New Judge]

And I’ve just read the reason for today’s breakdown in talks.

Apparently the EU proposal (which Mrs May agreed to before she spoke to Arlene Foster) was that Northern Ireland would remain in the EU customs union and single market in all but name. This is outrageous (and I don’t know what is more outrageous, the proposal itself or the fact that Mrs May was prepared to agree to it).

There is no way that any part of the UK should remain under the influence of the EU to such a degree and I would not be at all surprised if there was opposition to the proposal from quarters other than the DUP. As I said earlier, if the EU feels the need to enforce its border between Ireland and the UK (which is strange, because it seems none too keen to do so with its coastal borders) then that is a matter for them. If Ireland wants no such border they should speak to their Masters in Brussels.

[DTCwordfan]

One fallen for my wind-up 'spiel' - However, facetious I may have been, it wouldn't surprise me to see Gibraltar arise from the ashes but then the Catalonian ones maybe too warm for Madrid to handle at the moment and Gibraltar is a mere zit.