British vision offers up blurry image of 500km frontier

AMAJOR survey after the Brexit referendum asked ‘Leave’ voters why they wanted out of the EU.

The result was widely cited by ‘experts’ as a symptom of the disenchantment felt by ordinary people. But what the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey of 3,000 voters found was that 73pc were worried about immigration.

They wanted to “take back” control of their borders – seemingly oblivious to the fact the UK has only a single border with the EU.

That 500km frontier on the island of Ireland was once the most guarded in Western Europe and all sides agree they don’t want to go back to the “borders of the past”.

So yesterday the UK finally outlined its vision for the ‘borders of the future’ which will be, in the words of Prime Minister Theresa May, “frictionless” and “seamless”.

The UK government put forward an image of a free-flowing and unmonitored Irish Border, with small and medium-size businesses avoiding customs tariffs. Larger companies could adhere to any new customs regime by completing retrospective declarations online.

It certainly didn’t sound like a stinging rebuke of the status quo. Of course, much of the detail is still missing but Britain even went so far as to backtrack from the idea of using technology to keep tabs on the roads where kilometres turn into miles.

The paper also promises the common travel area (CTA), which allows UK and Irish citizens to travel, work, study and claim benefits in both jurisdictions, will be maintained.

Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster said the Conservative government which her party props up “has listened to voices in Belfast, Dublin, Brussels and London”.

In theory the Irish Government should sign on the dotted line and tell the EU to get on board – but it’s not that simple. If EU nationals are allowed to move freely into the UK through the Republic of Ireland then what was the Brexit vote all about.

There are an estimated three million EU nationals living in Britain, and one million Britons residing in other parts of the bloc.

Mrs May argues it will be able to control immigration through work permits or other measures. History says it won’t be that easy.

Likewise, farmers have said it is impossible to see how the Irish Border can stay open and free of checkpoints under the proposals. Cross-Border trade in agriculture involves close monitoring of food safety and animal health. If the UK bravely goes forth to make its own trade deals with other countries then two divergent regimes will operate on the island – thus requiring Border checks. Some 40pc of the exports south of the Border are destined for a UK market.

In Northern Ireland, more than 50pc of agri-food produce goes to the Republic. The clock is ticking on Brexit. One year, 223 days to go.

It’s hard to judge how genuine the British proposals are because right now it seems the more things change the more they stay the same.