{"id":2825,"date":"2019-09-10T14:02:55","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T14:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/?p=2825"},"modified":"2019-10-01T10:11:04","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T10:11:04","slug":"backstop-abandoned-what-does-the-future-hold-for-northern-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/?p=2825","title":{"rendered":"Backstop Abandoned: What Does the Future Hold for Northern Ireland?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With a further extension of Brexit deadline day now on the table, the future for Northern Ireland \u2013 and the Irish Backstop \u2013 appears increasingly uncertain. Parliamentary negotiations are in a state of deadlock, yet our Prime Minister remains committed to the hardest possible form of Brexit. Not only this, but he has described the Irish Backstop \u2013 a means of ensuring minimal disruption to the region \u2013 as \u2018dead\u2019. The ramifications of this will be felt on both sides of the border, with the upheaval spanning the political, societal, and economic spheres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free Movement and Citizens\u2019 Rights\u00ad<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The continuity of the Common Travel Area (CTA) is central to\nthe issues posed by a no-deal Brexit. At present, the CTA allows for both Irish\nand British citizens to move seamlessly between the two nations, free from\nimmigration controls. Yet from 31 October onwards, the 310-mile Irish border\nwill constitute the UK\u2019s only political and economic land frontier with the EU.\nIt is pertinent to examine the impact that this development will have on the\nCTA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theresa\nMay<\/a> has stated that Brexit will not \u201cimpact on the ability to enter the UK\nfrom within the CTA free from routine border controls.\u201d However, the\ngovernment has noted<\/a> that \u201cmany of the benefits enjoyed by Irish and UK\nnationals have also been provided for in instruments setting out EU free\nmovement\u201d. The UK\u2019s departure from the single market will spell the end of free\nmovement; in order to uphold the CTA, it is vital that a more secure statutory\nfooting is sought. Even if May\u2019s statement is correct, it may be necessary for\nthe Irish government to seek EU approval, which would be unsettling for all\ncross-border families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CTA is by no means the only citizen\u2019s right threatened\nby a no-deal. The Good Friday Agreement allows for those born in Northern\nIreland to hold either Irish or British citizenship<\/a>,\nthe viability of which is inextricably linked to the UK and Ireland\u2019s EU\nmembership. Whilst\npending UK legislation asserts this right<\/a>, its means of enforcement is\ncurrently unclear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immigration controls<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Even if the CTA is upheld after Brexit, the Republic of\nIreland will still allow free movement for citizens of the other 28 member\nstates. With this in mind, the UK government\u2019s commitment to a frictionless\nborder contravenes their pledge to reduce net migration, as EU migrants could cross\nthe border unchallenged. BrexitLawNI<\/a>\nraise concerns that this could have severe human rights implications for ethnic\nminority communities, such as random immigration checks and the use of\ndetention for those unable to prove their status. In order to maintain an open\nborder, it\nis thought that UK immigration<\/a> could be controlled from Irish ports and\nairports rather than at the Irish border, but this would be immensely\ncontroversial due to the history of conflict between the two nations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In light of this, it appears that all potential means of\ncontrolling immigration are likely to engender tension. Were a hard border to\nbe introduced, any form of infrastructure would become an immediate target for\nparamilitary organisations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is vital that an appropriate solution is found. A report from Brookings<\/a> points out that localised violence remains high, with punishment beatings increasing 60 per cent in four years. The Brexit lobby are treating the region with contempt; peace should always take precedence in decision-making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impact on the Irish economy <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A no-deal Brexit will have a cataclysmic impact on the integrated, all-Ireland economy. The Irish Backstop ensured ease of trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic by keeping the UK in the customs union, its abandonment will necessitate border checks and tariffs on goods crossing the border. The consequences of this cannot be overstated. The Institute for Government<\/a> state that 80 per cent of the goods exported by the Republic are transported to or through the UK. The imposition of tariffs would therefore be hugely destructive to Irish exports. Similarly, 21 per cent of Northern Ireland\u2019s exports<\/a> head south of the border \u2013 leaving with no-deal will sever this economic interdependence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also relevant to note that 30,000\nworkers are \u2018cross-border\u2019<\/a> in that they live and work on different sides,\nand the imposition of border checks would hugely inconvenience daily lives. The\nall-Ireland economy is conducive to peace as it fosters North-South cooperation.\nIt is therefore crucial that a deal is sought to safeguard the rights of all\nthose on the island of Ireland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the situation reaching a critical point, it is time for\nnegotiations to give due consideration to those whose lives will be affected.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a further extension of Brexit deadline day now on the table, the future for Northern Ireland \u2013 and the Irish Backstop \u2013 appears increasingly uncertain. Parliamentary negotiations are in a state of deadlock, yet our Prime Minister remains committed to the hardest possible form of Brexit. Not only this, but he has described the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":2828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1390,1395,1410,1396],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1649],"class_list":["post-2825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brexit","category-comment","category-northern-ireland","category-uk"],"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Backstop-Abandoned-What-Does-the-Future-Hold-for-Northern-Ireland-andrew-butler-aUu8tZFNgfM-unsplash-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2825"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=2825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}