A former cabinet minister, David Jones, is one such nutjob. He was Welsh Secretary under Cameron, is now deputy chairman of the ERG (how the mighty have fallen, eh?) and has given an interview to The Newsletter, a Belfast digital news outlet leaning (I believe) towards the unionist side: ERG defends backing deal containing Irish Sea border – but now demands it be removed.
"The ERG’s sudden concern about Northern Ireland – which was not evident when it rejected unionist pleas in 2019 and effectively prioritised Brexit over the Union – has intrigued some close observers of Westminster.
"When asked why unionists should trust the ERG, after it abandoned them previously to vote for the Irish Sea border, the group’s deputy chairman David Jones told the News Letter: “You have to bear in mind that the NI Protocol is part of a larger Withdrawal Agreement which also has a political declaration which made it absolutely clear that in relation to Northern Ireland both parties were to seek alternative arrangements to those set out in the protocol itself."
I don't recall Jones raising any problems when the WA was published in 2019 or during the subsequent election campaign where he went round his Clwyd West constituency on the back of Johnson's 'oven ready' deal. Now the NI protocol that he voted for is proving to be extremely unpopular he wants it scrapped.
He told The Newsletter that it was now clear that the EU is not going to consider any alternative to the protocol and for that reason "the ERG now wanted the Irish Sea border removed."
The whole thing is apparently the fault of the EU. Johnson inherited a "weak hand of cards" Jones claims, forgetting the the PM spent from July to October 2019 threatening to leave without a deal at all.
The ERG voted for the WA because, "it got rid of the backstop and had a written undertaking from the EU that it would explore alternative arrangements to obviate the terms of the NI Protocol and we took the EU at its word."
The ERG want the EU and the UK governments to examine the 'mutual enforcement' alternative which would essentially put notional customs and border inspection posts in every workplace and domestic premises in Ireland. Trade would all be a matter of trust (with legal consequences) that firms and citizens on both sides (a) know what all the rules are and (b) abide by them to the letter the vast majority of the time.
The clauses in the NI protocol that the former solicitor relies on are these:
24. The Parties will put in place ambitious customs arrangements, in pursuit of their overall objectives. In doing so, the Parties envisage making use of all available facilitative arrangements and technologies, in full respect of their legal orders and ensuring that customs authorities are able to protect the Parties' respective financial interests and enforce public policies. To this end, they intend to consider mutual recognition of trusted traders' programmes, administrative cooperation in customs and value added tax (VAT) matters and mutual assistance, including for the recovery of claims related to taxes and duties, and through the exchange of information to combat customs and VAT fraud and other illegal activity.
25. Such facilitative arrangements and technologies will also be considered in alternative arrangements for ensuring the absence of a hard border on the island of Ireland.
They are modest changes not a wholesale dumping of all border controls as the ERG are agitating for, replaced by a few lines on the statute book. Even if it were possible the EU would never accept it since every other territory where they have a border would demand the same treatment and pretty soon the single market would collapse.
But the tone of the Newsletter report can be seen in the final paragraph:
"When asked if Mr Johnson - who shows no sign of moving away from the protocol – could credibly claim to be a unionist if he continues to endorse the Irish Sea border, Mr Jones said: 'I’m not prepared to go down that route'."
They have opened a Pandora's box and a future generation of Ulster men and women may soon be paying the price.
