Article Sixteen Vandals

<p>The European Commission has rowed back on their '<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2021/01/eu-has-surrendered-moral-high-ground-over-irish-border" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hugely inflammatory</a>' attempt to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol, after outcry from the British and Irish governments. The fact that it was even attempted in the first place exposes a misunderstanding of the Irish border on the part of the EU, and sets a dangerous precedent.</p><br /><p>On this episode of the <em>New Statesman Podcast</em>, Stephen Bush, Anoosh Chakelian and Ailbhe Rea discuss why the decision was made to invoke the clause, and the implications it raises. Then, in You Ask Us, they answer your question on whether a nominally leftwing party can ever justify a closed border policy.</p><br /><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>Stephen writes that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2021/02/eu-doesn-t-understand-irish-border-any-better-brexiteers-do" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the EU doesn't understand the Irish border any better than the Brexiteers do</a>.</p><p>Ailbhe argues that by attempting to trigger Article 16,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2021/01/eu-has-surrendered-moral-high-ground-over-irish-border" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the EU has lost the moral high ground</a>.</p><p>Anoosh has been following the cladding crisis, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2021/02/post-grenfell-cladding-crisis-affecting-millions-about-hit-government-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reports here</a>&nbsp;on the millions of people stuck in unsafe homes as a result.</p><br /><p><strong>We'd love to hear from you.</strong></p><p>Send us your You Ask Us questions at&nbsp;<a href="http://youaskus.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">youaskus.co.uk</a>.</p><p>You can follow Stephen Bush on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/stephenkb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@stephenkb</a>. Anoosh Chakelian is <a href="https://twitter.com/Anoosh_C" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@Anoosh_C</a> and Ailbhe Rea is <a href="https://twitter.com/PronouncedAlva" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@PronouncedAlva</a>.</p><br /><p><strong>More audio</strong> from the New Statesman: listen to our weekly global affairs show <a href="https://play.acast.com/s/world-review/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>World Review</em></a></p><br /><p><strong>Subscribing</strong> to the New Statesman helps us keep producing this podcast. You can now subscribe for 12 weeks for just £12. Visit <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/subscribe12" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">newstatesman.com/subscribe12</a></p><br /><p>If you are a&nbsp;New Statesman&nbsp;digital subscriber you can get ad-free access to this podcast by visiting&nbsp;<a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/nssubscribers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">newstatesman.com/nssubscribers</a>.</p><br /><p><strong>Topics in this episode</strong></p><p>Europe</p><p>UK</p><p>Ireland</p><p>Northern Ireland</p><p>Article 16</p><p>Northern Ireland protocol</p><p>Brexit</p><p>Covid-19</p><p>Vaccine</p><p>The DUP</p><p>Conservatives</p><p>European Commission</p><br /><p><strong>People in this episode</strong></p><p>Arlene Foste<strong>r</strong></p><p>Boris Johnson</p><p>Ursula Von der Layen</p><p>Jean Claude Juncker</p><p>Keir Starmer</p><p>Stephen Bush</p><p>Anoosh Chakelian</p><p>Ailbhe Rea</p><p><strong>LISTEN AD-FREE:</strong></p><p>📱<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2022/06/newapp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Download the New Statesman app</a></p><br /><p><strong>MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:</strong></p><p>❓ <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/2022/10/you-ask-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ask a question</a> – we answer them every Friday</p><p>⏰ <a href="https://morningcall.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get our daily politics newsletter</a> every morning</p><p>✍️ <a href="http://saturdayread.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Enjoy the best of our writing</a> via email every Saturday</p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>