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Other Politics border Brexit Britain Ireland UK

The Irish border issue must be kept in perspective

The border should be a relatively small issue as far as Brexit is concerned. That it has taken on such prominence is a triumph of Irish diplomatic manoeuvring

By Graham Gudgin  
February 5, 2018

An abandoned Customs Facilitation Office at the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Photo: PA

As we enter the UK’s last full year as a member of the EU, negotiations are about to begin to determine the long-term relationship with the EU27. The Progress Report of December 8th 2017 recorded agreement on UK ‘divorce’ payments, the rights of EU citizens and arrangements for the land border between the UK and Ireland. The Cambridge Law Professor Simon Deakin takes the view that “while this is merely…

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Graham Gudgin

Graham Gudgin is Honorary Research Associate at the Centre For Business Research (CBR) in the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge and Cheief Economic Advisor at Policy exchange in London. He was director of the Northern Ireland Economic Research Centre from 1985 to 1998 when he became Special Adviser to the First Minister in the NI Assembly until 2002.

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