twitter.com/Anna_Soubry/status/1006882409546158080
Government amendment on Irish border passed yesterday will effectively keep UK in single market, MPs claim
Starmer says the government agreed in December that there must be no hard border in Ireland after Brexit, meaning no new infrastructure at the border.
He says one of the government amendments passed yesterday (an amendment to the Chris Patten amendment) now makes this a legally binding obligation. He says this did not get much attention yesteday, but it is hugely significant.
Dominic Grieve, the Conservative pro-European, says the Ireland amendment is even more important. To avoid border infrastructure, there would be to be a high level of regulatory alignment, he says.
Starmer agrees.
Ken Clarke, another Conservative pro-European, intervenes. He says the government passing the amendment that Starmer is talking about was the most significant thing that happened yesterday, even though it did not attract much attention. He goes on:
Effectively we are going to reproduce the customs union and the single market and the government will not be able to comply with yesterday’s legal obligation unless it does so.
Starmer agrees. He says the Irish amendments passed yesterday were the most significant event of the day.
