Leading eurosceptic Tory MEP fears the DUP will not resist the damage to the Union done by Brexit deal

One of the most influential advocates of Brexit has queried whether the DUP can be relied upon to defend the Union against the damage done by the Withdrawal Agreement.
Deputy leader Nigel Dodds and fellow Westminster DUP MPs speaking in London at the time of the backstop being finalised in 2017: Would the DUP, of all parties, put economic calculations above the Union? Its hard to say,' writes Dan Hannan MEP 'Government strategists believe the DUP is looking for an excuse to climb down and if it does so, the ERG will follow'Deputy leader Nigel Dodds and fellow Westminster DUP MPs speaking in London at the time of the backstop being finalised in 2017: Would the DUP, of all parties, put economic calculations above the Union? Its hard to say,' writes Dan Hannan MEP 'Government strategists believe the DUP is looking for an excuse to climb down and if it does so, the ERG will follow'
Deputy leader Nigel Dodds and fellow Westminster DUP MPs speaking in London at the time of the backstop being finalised in 2017: Would the DUP, of all parties, put economic calculations above the Union? Its hard to say,' writes Dan Hannan MEP 'Government strategists believe the DUP is looking for an excuse to climb down and if it does so, the ERG will follow'

Dan Hannan, Conservative MEP, has written a long article condemning Theresa May’s deal with the European Union, saying that no self respecting country could support such an outcome.

Mr Hannan, a Tory intellectual who is respected among eurosceptics for his long-standing criticism of the EU, said that the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), on which MPs will vote next week, represents “a devastating failure of British statecraft”.

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He said: “It would keep most of the costs of EU membership while junking most of the benefits. It would require Britain to cede part of its territory to foreign jurisdiction.”

Dan Hannan, Conservative MEP and longstanding eurosecepticDan Hannan, Conservative MEP and longstanding euroseceptic
Dan Hannan, Conservative MEP and longstanding euroseceptic

But Mr Hannan expressed some of his greatest concern for the prospect of unionists backing a deal which, he said, should be opposed by “MPs who believe in the Union”.

He wrote, in his article for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper: “Eurosceptic Tories have dug in on only one point, namely the backstop, and with good reason. No self-respecting country would allow the regulatory annexation of part of its territory in exchange for... well, for nothing at all, really, since the promised trade deal hasn’t materialised.

“At least EU membership, unlike the backstop, comes with an exit mechanism.”

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He continued: “If the EU wanted, it could easily fix the problem, either by inserting a standard break clause into the backstop, or by allowing that, as with other international treaties, either party could withdraw after a year’s notice or, indeed, by setting a time limit. Its refusal to do so is telling. The EU wants to keep Britain in the customs union forever”.

Mr Hannan wrote: “Faced with such intransigence, how did we respond? Did we prepare for a no-deal outcome while leaving the offer of a deal sans backstop on the table? No. In a perfect demonstration of what it has got wrong since the talks began, the government set out not to change the substance of the deal, but to give MPs an excuse to back down.

“The formula our negotiators have settled on, I understand from numerous Brussels sources, is a declaration to the effect that Britain could pull out of the backstop if talks on our future status had irretrievably broken down, or if one side were negotiating in bad faith.”

Then he added: “Since no one will actually believe that such a clause makes any difference, what is the purpose of the whole exercise? Well, government strategists believe that the DUP is looking for an excuse to climb down and that, if it does so, the ERG will follow – or, at least, enough eurosceptics will follow to allow the deal to be pushed through with some rebel Labour votes.

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“Why should the DUP back down? After all, the party has been clear throughout that it has only one red line, namely that Northern Ireland should not be treated differently from Great Britain. The backstop erases that red line in a quite aggressive way.

“It has been reported that the EU’s anglophobic chief official, Martin Selmayr, calls Northern Ireland the ‘price’ Britain must pay for Brexit. Whether or not he spoke those exact words, the reality is clear: Ulster will have its economy largely regulated from Brussels, where it will have no representation – though, naturally, Dublin is offering it vicarious representation.

“Could any Ulster Unionist accept such a settlement? Don’t underestimate the canny, materialistic aspect of unionism. Some businesses and agricultural interests in the Province see the backstop as an investment opportunity.

“They believe that firms might relocate to Northern Ireland in order to have privileged access to both British and European markets.

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“Would the DUP, of all parties, put such calculations above the Union? It’s hard to say. But don’t make the common English mistake of thinking that Ulstermen live more in the seventeenth century than the twenty-first. Unionism has always been a partly financial proposition.

“I sometimes tease my Ulster friends by asking them if they can tell me how the 1912 Ulster Covenant, the founding charter of unionism, begins. You’d think it would start with a declaration of loyalty to the Crown, or perhaps with a commitment to religious liberty. You’d be wrong. The opening words are ‘Being convinced in our consciences that Home Rule would be disastrous to the material well-being of Ulster…’

“The government hopes that the DUP, under pressure from Northern Irish corporates, will back down, and that Tory eurosceptics will then grit their teeth and accept the deal rather than risk a delay. And so it may come to pass.”

Mr Hannan then wondered if delaying this “terrible Brexit” would be the best approach if it led to a “successful one in 2020”.