PM’s climbdown is a grim day for the integrity of the UK

At last year’s DUP conference outside Belfast last November, he said of the Theresa May-EU agreed backstop: “We would be damaging the fabric of the Union with regulatory checks and even customs controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland on top of those extra regulatory checks down the Irish Sea that are already envisaged in the Withdrawal Agreement. Now I have to tell you no British Conservative government could or should sign up to any such arrangement.”

He got cheers and applause from DUP delegates.

Yet within four months he had done just what he said no Tory government would do, and had voted for the backstop.

Two weeks ago, Mr Johnson, now prime minister, gave similar hope to the DUP at its reception at the Tory conference in Manchester. He talked about the unshakeable importance of the Union, yet hours later his initial deal — including a major regulatory border in the Irish Sea — had been unveiled. It seemed, however, that he was standing firm on customs — tariffs — and in return for this, and a Stormont lock, he got DUP support. This was a huge concession from them.

But when there were immediate howls of protest and anguish from the Irish government and the EU, Mr Johnson must have been planning his climbdown almost at once.

There are elements of the deal that are better than Theresa May’s deal, including the fact that the UK will be able to cut trade deals (which was uncertain under her agreement) and that Northern Ireland will be able to benefit from them.

But it is a massive, almost full border in the Irish Sea.

There is no way of disguising how serious and reprehensible that is. It is a massive constitutional change.

Possible unionist responses to this will not be apparent until after Saturday’s Parliamentary vote. But this is a grim day for the integrity of the UK and the DUP had to oppose it.