Quote Originally Posted by Peter View Post
This does raise the broader point of an effective border between the Republic and the rest of the UK, a border which has never really existed in any modern sense. This means I am going to have to show my passport tothat **** at Stansted. He is going to love this....

What you are really doing is leaving Northern Ireland open and keeping a mainland border. If a hard border on the island is unacceptable then this really is the only option.

I still dont see why this has to mean no deal. It sounds like *******s to me.
As with any 'intractable' diplomatic problem, it simply screams out for a fudge in which one thing is said and quite another done. So either an 'open' border which is actually manned or a 'hard' border that is not enforced. Unfortunately, there does seem to be too little flexibility or subtlety being shown by either side to achieve such a thing.