The Irish backstop was a proposed Brexit protocol to prevent a hard border in Ireland, ultimately replaced by the Northern Ireland Protocol in 2019.
Key Facts
- Formally known as
- Northern Ireland Protocol
- Initially developed
- December 2017 by May government and European Commission
- Finalised
- November 2018
- Westminster votes against
- Three times rejected by Parliament by early 2019
- Replaced by Johnson government
- October 2019 renegotiation created de facto Irish Sea border
- Exit mechanism
- Northern Ireland Assembly can leave via simple majority vote
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Brexit necessitated a solution for the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Without a special arrangement, leaving the EU's Single Market and Customs Union would have required customs controls at that border, threatening the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and creating a hard border on the island of Ireland.
The May government and the European Commission developed the Irish backstop, finalised in November 2018, which would have kept Northern Ireland in aspects of the Single Market and established a common UK-EU customs territory indefinitely until an alternative arrangement was agreed. Westminster rejected the Withdrawal Agreement containing the backstop three times, with the DUP's opposition proving decisive.
Following rejection of the backstop, the Johnson government renegotiated the protocol in October 2019, replacing it with an arrangement that kept Northern Ireland aligned with EU rules on goods while the rest of the UK left the Customs Union, effectively creating a de facto customs border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Political Outcome
The backstop was never ratified; it was replaced in October 2019 by a renegotiated protocol creating an Irish Sea border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
May government proposed backstop keeping Northern Ireland in aspects of the Single Market
Johnson government protocol created Irish Sea border, with Northern Ireland Assembly holding unilateral exit option