To the idea of leaving one part of the country behind, he replies: “No UK government would allow such a thing, let alone a Conservative and Unionist one.”
Also: DUP gear up for enhanced role whilst working on border compromise; and Holyrood committee shows its teeth and plunges SNP policy into chaos.
Dublin is in danger of setting conditions that Westminster cannot meet. Instead, we must return to our historic willingness to navigate difficulties together.
The Shadow Chancellor says he could “give a clearer view” of Labour’s position if the party were involved in the negotiations.
Dublin likes to cite the Belfast Agreement, and we certainly all need what it exemplified – that’s to say, a good old-fashioned face-saving fudge.
I have said previously that I believe the Government has been pursuing a sensible negotiating approach to date. I maintain that view.
The architects of Project Fear seem locked into a state of permanent depression about the UK’s future.
The key question is not whether we can diverge, but whether we can do so without asking the EU first and obtaining their prior agreement.
We are not yet there, but it’s clear the Brexit cup is not, as some gloomily believe, half-empty but in reality very nearly full.
Nor will the eventual separation from the EU see a sudden break. Rather, this will be a gradual and partial divergence.
There is time to correct the lack of preparedness of our customs and computers for 2019. But it is running out.
The referendum was at least as much a vote against London as against Brussels – and those whose expert arrogance made them seem to many to be foreigners here.
Of course Ulster’s trade with the mainland must be protected as top priority, but a degree of flexibility on regulations in a small number of sectors is sensible.