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Important for the UK government argument to break international law - as we have discussed extensively over recent years no Free Trade Agreement can eliminate border controls entirely therefore the agreement or not of one does not change the applicability of the Irish Protocol.
Now this does not change breaking international law over state aid, and my sense is that the powers over exit summary declarations from Northern Ireland are mostly a cover for Number 10's state aid obsession. However it is why their peace process argument does not hold.
Hence why the EU has also responded with unconcealed fury to the UK. After two years of explaining to the UK government that Irish border arrangements must be included in the Withdrawal Agreement as a future FTA might not cover them the UK accepts and signs a treaty.
For the UK to then say we need to break international law to protect east-west trade as that was going to happen under a FTA is therefore wrong and extreme bad faith. It is also why arguments such as this from Bernard Jenkin utterly false. https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2020/09/bernard-jenkin-if-necessary-we-must-pass-legislation-that-will-nullify-the-direct-effect-and-direct-applicability-of-eu-laws.html
The UK government was in full possession of the facts about what was signed in October last year, and their denial of this and international law 11 months later as part of some negotiating attempt to get an unachievable deal is even for this government staggering.
So we are left from this week as to wondering whether the UK can now recover a trade deal with either or both the US and EU. Both will hold firm on Ireland. Over to you UK government. The polls may support you today. That might be different in 6 months.
And incidentally, it also isn't a good look to treat Parliament with this much contempt. One day this will come back and cause problems. /end https://twitter.com/Alison_McGovern/status/1304319181232500740
