No-deal Brexit would threaten peace and prosperity
For the sake of truth and accuracy it is worth stating that the UK did not become borderless in 1973. Then as today, travellers to the UK are required to show their passports at airports and ports.
In fact it is now an offence not to be in possession of a passport at a port or airport. Of course, Britain, being an island, has a border.
There is one part of the UK that does have a land border, Northern Ireland. British and Irish citizens and others with a proper visa can walk across it without showing a passport. I was once rowed across the border at Warrenpoint, County Down. This of course is because of the Common Travel Area set up in 1923.
Now all this is threatened by a no-deal Brexit that would require the setting up of a “hard” border – one that requires passport and customs checks. The disruption to trade would be considerable and the economy of Ireland damaged as a result. This is why the majority in Northern Ireland voted to remain in the European Union.
Last week’s elections brought good news with Northern Ireland’s third European Parliament seat going to Naomi Long of the anti-Brexit Alliance Party, which should help ensure peace and prosperity in that part of the world.
Ian Martin
