Good Friday and Border won’t go away, Mrs May

THERESA May finds the EU’s backstop plan unacceptable. Does she, as prime minister, understand that the British government signed up to the Good Friday Agreement?

Does she understand that through that agreement Ireland gave up its historic claim to the territory of Northern Ireland, confirmed by referendum in the Republic?

And that part of the horse trading included Britain’s promise that if or when a Border poll indicated that the majority of Northern Irish people wanted to reunite with Ireland then Britain wouldn’t stand in their way?

And now May and Arlene Foster stand in the way of the majority of Northern Irish who expressed their wish to remain in the EU.

The elephant in the room is that no one really wants Northern Ireland. Ireland can’t afford its engorged public sector costs, while British taxpayers have no option but to feed an expensive fly in the political ointment, and keep a stiff upper lip about it.

And the funny thing is, the EU has understood the Good Friday Agreement better than May and most of her Tory party, not to mention the hard Brexiteers.

Reality will rule the day because the reality is that the EU also doesn’t want Northern Ireland (unless it comes with Ireland, an Ireland to which the EU remains wedded and loyal since 1973. Thus the backstop. Sorry, Theresa, it won’t go away. Alison Hackett Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin