Can someone explain the Irish backstop to me in very simple words?

[Apolloanddaphne]

I am an intelligent woman with multiple degrees but i have to confess i have no idea what the back stop is. I am too scared to ask my DH or my friends lest they think i am an imbecile (lighthearted). I have tried googling it to read articles about it but i just don't get it.

One of my friends is Irish and has a piece in a newspaper today related this today. If it comes up in conversation next time i see him i would at least like to be able to say something semi intelligent about it!

Help me please. Use easy words. Thanks.

Apollo.....I'm with you. I don't really understand it. I don't think there is any shame in ever saying you don't understand something. Thank you to those who took the time to explain it. For those who just posted to say they can't believe some people still don't understand it, you may have more political knowledge than some, but you are actually very sad to want to make other people feel stupid.

Therefore the only solution would be to stay in the EU, or as close to it as possible.

Don’t understand the Hard Brexiters who don’t want to stay in the Customs Union, don’t want the Backstop, and don’t want a hard border. What on earth do they think the solution is??

My brain glazes over when Ireland is mentioned. To my mind the best solution would be to give Northern Ireland to the South, and be rid of it.

Oh dear.....

@eddiemairswife
That is a bit like Trump wanting to buy Greenland. You can just sell or give away a populated part of the nation.

NI only backstop: unless and until alternative arrangements can be found that ensure the border remains open, NI will remain in the customs union.

UK wide backstop: as UK do not want a different arrangement to apply to NI than the rest of the UK then the entire UK will remain in the customs union, unless and until alternative arrangements can be found that ensure the border remains open.

Why is it called a backstop?

Don’t understand the Hard Brexiters who don’t want to stay in the Customs Union, don’t want the Backstop, and don’t want a hard border. What on earth do they think the solution is??

Their solution is to put their fingers in their ears and say 'lalalalalalala give us our sovereignty lalalalalalalala let's take back control lalalalalalalalala we want our freedom lalalalalalalalala no deal lalalalalalalalalala'.

To paraphrase the OP : in very simple terms can someone explain to me what are the benefits to the UK of leaving the EU and how these benefits outweigh any likely negative impacts.

@eddiemairswife

it might make your brain glaze over, but here in Ireland we like staying alive and not getting bombed so Ireland needs to be talked about, over and over. And handing NI over to ROI would cause a bit more trouble than orangemen marching.

For those who just posted to say they can't believe some people still don't understand it, you may have more political knowledge than some, but you are actually very sad to want to make other people feel stupid.

Frankly, if people called out what is both (1) wilful ignorance and (2) colossal wilful ignorance about recent Anglo-Irish history rather more, then the UK would not be teetering on the brink of a colossal act of self-damage which, unfortunately for Ireland, will cause considerable collateral damage.

@peonypower it's called the "backstop" because during the 2 year transition period the main focus is on finding the alternative arrangements that keep the border open. If no such arrangements can be found, the " backstop" is that NI/rUK remain in the customs union.

Their solution is to put their fingers in their ears and say 'lalalalalalala give us our sovereignty lalalalalalalala let's take back control lalalalalalalalala we want our freedom lalalalalalalalala no deal lalalalalalalalalala'

Now, you're forgetting the Magical Technology Which Will Solve the Border, @Propertyofhood.

Peony
It is called a backstop because it is designed to last ONLY until there is a proper trade deal
which Brexiters are now realising may be many years away

Very very simply (I think) if we've not made suitable arrangements for customs checks that avoid a hard border within the two year transition period, so 2 years from 31st October, if indeed we leave on that date, the backstop comes into play and we have to carry on following the EU rules for movement of goods between the UK & Ireland.

People don't like it because a) once we've left, they don't want to follow EU rules, we want our own 🙄 and b) there's no unilateral exit mechanism, which means that we can't just say we don't want to do it any more, the EU has to agree that our new 'alternative arrangements' 🦄(they've had 3 years so far and can't think of anything that avoids a hard border) are suitable. If they don't think they're suitable, they won't agree to the 'switch over' to our rules, and we remain 'trapped' with the EU rules for ever more.

The EU won't accept a hard border on the island of Ireland under any circumstances which is why they insist on the backstop (and Theresa May agreed to it and said she could get it through parliament)

Ok so imagine there are 3 ways to avoid a hard border (through laws, regulations etc) and they are called X, Y & Z. We are in X and we want Z. Z does not exist yet so we have to move to Y as soon as we stop X.

That's basically it.

I don't have a degree (and only 2 A levels) but consider myself of reasonable intelligence but i also didnt understand.

If all the answers and solutions to brexit were as easy as some are implying, why have hundreds of lawyers, advisors, civil servants etc been working on it for 2.5 years and we still dont know a) what is going to happen b) when its going to happen (we've got 31st october as a date but there have been at least 2 previous fake leave dates) and c) what the full implications are.....

My brain glazes over when Ireland is mentioned. To my mind the best solution would be to give Northern Ireland to the South, and be rid of it.
You're right. Your brain is glazed over.

This is my fairly vague understanding of it.

Say the UK leaves the EU with no deal.

Immediately, the EU (I.E. republic of Ireland) will need to have a customs border along the frontier with the UK (Northern Ireland).

The backstop, is a temporary ongoing part of the proposed and not yet accepted DEAL, which proposes that the UK actually remains within the customs union (hence no need for customs check at border).

Why is it called a backstop - as it's a failsafe mechanism for if all other methods fail to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

Is it a permanent arrangement? No - it's temporary until they find some other way to avoid a border

Why doesn't the UK want to accept the backstop? As it means having to temporarily in some way having to remain part of the EU customs union, thereby not WHOLLY AND COMPLETELY achieving a complete break from the 'shackles' of the EU.

Why does Ireland want it? Because of the troubles and because it will ignite dying embers of violence.

If I've got that arseways, please feel free to correct me.

Very very simply (I think) if we've not made suitable arrangements for customs checks that avoid a hard border within the two year transition period, so 2 years from 31st October

Transition period is only until end of December 2020, unfortunately.

So in the event of a no deal there will have to be a hard border? Is that right?

The op's posts are quite unnerving. Why wait until now ?

I went to bbc news and looked at one of thier videos explaining it.

And being ignorant about a major current topic IS ABSOLUTELY OK. I’d say 80% of people don’t know what the backstop is. At least the OP is asking. There are no stupid questions. I think the OP was looking for people not to make her feel stupid.

So in the event of a no deal there will have to be a hard border? Is that right?

From my understanding, as things stand, with no other credible tolerable solution put forward by Boris yet, yes, it will mean a hard border and checks as the EU will need to keep an eye on imports into the EU from the UK (i.e. over the border in Ireland).

Will there be customs borders elsewhere? Yes - any sea border where imports will be coming into the EU from the UK.

Why is that not a problem? Because there isn't the history that there is within Ireland and it will be a sea border, not dividing a once whole nation.

Yes in the event of no deal there will have to be a hard border.
The UK may be ok with lower food and other standards but the EU doesn’t want those goods in the EU so a hard border will be needed.
The UK will then not get any trade deal, not with the EU and not with the US until the hard border is addressed.

In the mean time the very fragile peace in NI will be shattered.

The rest of the UK will also be f**ked but that is not the EUs problem.

Viva I don't think so as EU won't allow.

I follow Brexit in miserable fascination and struggle massively to understand this isue, one poster said ages ago that it's like water slipping between your fingers, you think you've grasped it but then....it's gone again.