The Conservative and Unionist Party is now a name rarely used, but Unionism and Conservatism are interdependent.
My great friend Boris Johnson would likely turn to the lesson of Pericles here, that a nation is not ships, nor walls, but its people.
And the people of Northern Ireland are British citizens and subjects of the Crown like the rest of us. Any undermining or surrendering of sovereignty in the 6 counties may have consequences for the rest of the nation.
It could also encourage those who wish to disunite the United Kingdom. Conservatives should oppose this.
Some of us have noted the Monarch’s involvement at an unusually early stage of active parliamentary procedure. This risks setting a harmful precedent.
The King signs Acts of Parliament. Downing Street has asked him to be involved before Parliament has had a say. Asking von der Leyen to meet the King at Windsor - indeed, calling this the Windsor Framework - risks allowing the EU to belittle our constitution already.
The PM is the servant of the King, not the other way around.
But the deal is apparently done and Brexit is completed. However, we should hold the English sparkling wine for now.
Ursula von der Leyen claims the European Court of Justice will continue to have the final say on single market issues, yet Rishi Sunak claims there will be no border in the Irish Sea. How are these two positions reconcilable?
Will the DUP perceive that the people of Northern Ireland remain under EU law and its regulatory system?
We should appreciate the 6 counties of Northern Ireland as much as we do England, Scotland, and Wales.
Think of its tipples: from the golden nectar of the Old Bushmills Distillery, to the cider of Armagh (which is almost as good as my own).
Its industrial history: the linen trade and the great Harland and Wolff shipyards.
