UK Brexit minister David Davis continues to speak in parliament
- Irish backstop is a 'reserve parachute'
- We are working on new Irish backstop wording now
The Irish border continues to be a thorn in the UK's side and more specifically in UK PM May's plans to withdraw from the EU customs union.
If the UK is to accept an unpalatable backstop plan for keeping Northern Ireland or the whole of the UK itself in the customs union, then it would defeat the whole purpose of Brexit. And that won't go down well with the Tories.
May's current stance is to refuse a Irish backstop plan - and not like the DUP would accept to a new border anyway - but it's tough to envisage how exactly the EU and UK can come to an agreement without a backstop guarantee in place at the moment.
