One of the reasons our economy is
being subjected to death by Brexit is, Theresa May and the Leave fanatics keep
telling us, so that we can ‘take control of our borders’.
If we are foolish enough to leave the EU, the only land frontier between the UK and the EU will be the one
between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. And how do the Brexiters
propose to ‘take control’ of this border? By getting rid of it.
So while the Brexiters will proclaim they have slain the bete noire of Freedom of Movement in March 2019, any EU
citizen who wants to enter the UK will simply have to go to the Irish Republic.
Then they can take a bus, train, car, bicycle or just walk across the border
into Northern Ireland and the UK is their oyster.
I heard some hapless government
spokesman on the radio conceding that this was all true but saying it didn’t
matter because the EU migrant would be detected by the authorities as soon as
they tried to take a job or to rent a flat.
He wasn’t asked why then do we pay
out millions and force people to wait in long queues to have their passports
checked at Heathrow, other airports, ferry ports etc.
The Brexiters promised we could ‘take
control’ of our borders but still have free movement between Northern Ireland
and the Republic. (Anything else would probably wreck Northern Ireland's economy and its peace process.) Fourteen months after the referendum they still have no
credible plan as to how this is to be achieved.
And even if they had, there is
no guarantee it would be acceptable to the EU.
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