The Irish backstop is the biggest obstacle preventing Theresa May’s EU withdrawal agreement from squeaking through parliament. This legal instrument means that, should the UK fail to secure a deal that would permit an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the former would remain in the European Union’s (EU) customs area and large parts of the single market. This is unpalatable for the hard Eurosceptics in the Conservative party, who want to see the UK make a clean break from the EU. It’s also opposed by the Northern Irish Unionist party currently propping up Theresa May’s…

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