The Telegraph are reporting tonight that Boris is considering plans for a regulatory border in the Irish Sea. Maybe this will end up being the deal he comes up with.
It's also reported that he's tearing up the restrictions on foreign students; letting them stay for two years after graduation.
Boris is also in favour of an amnesty for illegal migrants.
Any fair minded person would conclude that Boris's main concern in wanting to leave the EU was not to end freedom of movement.
I think a vanilla Norway option would suit him just fine. In other words, leave the EU and join the EEA. Yes, the UK would be in the single market and freedom of movement would remain. On the plus side, the UK would be out of the customs union, out of the CAP and out of the CFP. It would also go a long way to solving the Irish backstop issue.
Personally, I think he could sell it to the public, especially if he combined it with making the benefits system more difficult for EU citizens to access. He could take steps without breaking any single market rules. One idea I came up with is to give all children National Insurance credits starting on their first day of secondary school. By the time they got to 18 they would have over 5 years of contributions. You'd then make the benefits system contingent on having 5 years worth of NI contributions or credits.
Whether it's even possible to join the EEA is the question. The UK never did give notice to leave it. Depending who you believe, that's because it wasn't necessary or someone in May's government thought they'd keep that door slightly ajar.
It's also reported that he's tearing up the restrictions on foreign students; letting them stay for two years after graduation.
Boris is also in favour of an amnesty for illegal migrants.
Any fair minded person would conclude that Boris's main concern in wanting to leave the EU was not to end freedom of movement.
I think a vanilla Norway option would suit him just fine. In other words, leave the EU and join the EEA. Yes, the UK would be in the single market and freedom of movement would remain. On the plus side, the UK would be out of the customs union, out of the CAP and out of the CFP. It would also go a long way to solving the Irish backstop issue.
Personally, I think he could sell it to the public, especially if he combined it with making the benefits system more difficult for EU citizens to access. He could take steps without breaking any single market rules. One idea I came up with is to give all children National Insurance credits starting on their first day of secondary school. By the time they got to 18 they would have over 5 years of contributions. You'd then make the benefits system contingent on having 5 years worth of NI contributions or credits.
Whether it's even possible to join the EEA is the question. The UK never did give notice to leave it. Depending who you believe, that's because it wasn't necessary or someone in May's government thought they'd keep that door slightly ajar.
No comments:
Post a Comment