Is Jersey's EU relationship the key to Brexit success?
John Springford and Sam Lowe, of the Centre for European Reform, have proposed that by emulating the Island’s trade relationship with the EU, the UK government could resolve the Irish border issue and secure enough bargaining power to apply tighter immigration controls, which are two key Brexit issues.
...Their bulletin, posted on the Centre for European Reform’s website, says that the Jersey option would be acceptable to both the UK and EU and that by sacrificing automatic access to EU markets for its services industries sector, including the City of London, the UK would be likely to have more negotiating power to restrict the EU’s ‘freedom of movement’ policy and apply its own immigration controls.
...Mr Spingford and Mr Lowe added, however, that the Jersey option would only be likely to be implemented if a Labour government was elected, as Prime Minister Theresa May faces too much pressure from Conservative MPs to ensure that Britain leaves the Single Market and Customs Union entirely, which would happen under the Canada-style agreement.
‘The Jersey option would...solve the Irish border issue: there would be no need for border checks of any sort, since all goods shipped across it would be produced according to EU rules, and no tariffs would be payable,’ their paper says.
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‘But it would require Theresa May to soften many of her red lines, and her party would be likely to defenestrate her [remove her from power] if she did so.
‘Perhaps a Labour government would be capable of delivering such a plan, but it would have to force an election – and win it – first.’