If you want to have a real conversation about customs, talk about the backstop

The two most interesting pieces this week on involving the backstop are from Sam Lowe, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, and Tony Connelly, Europe editor at Irish broadcaster RTE. They tell you far more than any number of news reports on Theresa May's 'war Cabinet'.

...But Lowe cautions that that is not necessarily the case. He says that the Commission and Ireland point to paragraph 46, which states that the principles of the joint report "will not pre-determine the outcome of wider discussions on the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom and are, as necessary, specific to the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland". As Lowe puts it, the backstop cannot become "the baseline offer to the whole of the UK".