Reminders of one of the greatest moments in BBC Question Time history have been making the rounds on social media as negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol trundle on.
There were fresh talks in Brussels this week amid delays in the deal.
Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has attended talks with the EU’s Maros Sefcovic in Belgium, but Government sources downplayed the chances of an agreement being struck this week.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has faced significant pushback from Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Brexit hardliners in the Tory party which have derailed his chances of reaching an agreement.
The protocol, agreed as part of the UK’s Brexit deal, effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods, meaning checks on products crossing from Great Britain.
The situation led to the collapse of powersharing in Northern Ireland, with the DUP protesting about the barrier to trade with the rest of the UK.
Question Time
With no ending in sight, reminders of a Question Time clip from 2019 has resurfaced.
The audience member commented on how the solution to the crisis could simply to be having “an island of Ireland”.
The man said: “The DUP and the EU seem to be really levering the Ireland backstop thing for the whole of Brexit.
“There’s thousands of issues I’m sure to do with Brexit but it’s always to do with the Good Friday Agreement, the DUP, the Northern Ireland backstop, all this.
“Why does that one issue put a big break on the whole thing and we have to negotiate around that?
“This is going to sound crazy, but Ireland being referred to as Ireland, the island of Ireland.
“Why don’t we just try and get that as an island again? And then we can carry on with our own thing.”
Reaction
Reaction to the clip was fierce on social media.
One man said: “Question Time audience member’s suggestion for solving the DUP/backstop issue? “Make the island of Ireland, Ireland again. Why can’t we do that?
“WHY HASN’T SOMEONE THOUGHT OF THAT SOMETIME OVER THE LAST 100 YEARS?”
Another added: “Massive respect to this guy on Question Time for inventing the idea of a United Ireland inside his own brain in public and in real time.”
While someone else tweeted: “Ah lads… I’ve got this great idea about Ireland” absolute whopper.”
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