After his recent trip to Northern Ireland Lord Frost has apparently declared that the NI Protocol is “not sustainable”. In former times one might have expected the noble Lord to fall on his sword as a result. He negotiated the protocol barely 6 months ago and then it was apparently a triumph. But these are not normal times and it seems that Lord Frost will be responsible for cleaning up his own mess.
He will be helped by the fact that the EU’s ambassador to the UK will now get full ambassadorial rights. A backdown from the UK government on a pathetic, petty minded, snub to the EU which it was obvious all along it could not win. Meanwhile the Jersey Government seems to have realised that trying to take advantage of Brexit to sneakily exclude French boats from their traditional waters is a dumb idea when 70% of your fish exports go to France. Strangely enough neither of these moves will be on the front pages of the tabloids under banner headlines about “France Surrenders” or “Boris’s Gun boats” but they will be noticed none the less.
The UK is on the back foot when it comes to dealing with the EU and always has been but these silly attempts at David Brent style point scoring don’t help. With the NI protocol now apparently “not sustainable” the UK needs the EU’s help to improve it.
The UK claimed to have negotiated an international treaty in good faith and immediately started poking sticks at the EU. Really mature, very helpful and without any consequences; until you have to back down every time and still need the EU to save you from the deal you negotiated.
Then it does matter but fear not Lord Frost will doubtless lead the negotiations.
https://jonty.substack.com/