Apparently Ireland couldn't afford to takeover northern ireland atm, but if it could be semi detached from the uk through the backstop then this would possibly be a stepping stone hence the Irish prime ministers insistence on the backstop proposal.
Here is an interesting Q&A with economist Dr Graham Gudgin, who is a top uk economist and author of the website 'briefings for brexit'
Extract:
"Q. You've been vocal not just in the Brexit campaign but in defending Brexiteers who've been labelled racist and stupid. Have you experienced personal abuse?
A. Myself and Professor Robert Tombs here at Cambridge - we were utterly fed up with this idea that everybody who had any education or who had a few brain cells would obviously oppose Brexit. We knew that wasn't true.
We knew there were a lot of professors in Oxford and Cambridge who would support Brexit. We've also set up the website Briefings for Brexit where we've had High Court judges and academics write articles. It's worked.
One of the most heartening things for me is the number of emails I've had from people right across the country who tell me how fed up they were that they were being called racist and stupid. It's true that the huge majority of academics are pro-Remain. People say to me: 'Gosh, you must be brave being pro-Brexit in Cambridge'.
But I have to say that no one has ever said anything offensive to me. So in a personal sense it hasn't cost me anything. For younger people, it's different. Young people have approached us and told us that while they're pro-Brexit they don't feel able to be identified for fear it would affect their career prospects. Some ludicrous things have been said to them. We had one young person who was told by his professor - who was Jewish - that people who had voted Brexit were the sort of people who sent his relatives to concentration camps. It's absurd. I've been shocked by the fightback against what was a democratic decision. What we have in the UK now is a very divided society.
In Northern Ireland it's maybe nothing new to live in a divided society. But this is something new for England and it's difficult to see how it will end up.
Q. How do you think the Prime Minister has handled the Brexit negotiations?
A. I do think Theresa May has handled it very poorly, but she was dealt a difficult hand. I'm not as critical as many people would be. She's sticking to it and she's trying her best.
Q. Your main reason for supporting Brexit?
A. The key reason I support Brexit is that I see the EU moving towards a United States of Europe. The question has to be - do we want to be a state or an independent country?
It's hard enough to negotiate a way out now. Think how much more difficult it would be as that progressed in 10 or 20 years. However difficult Brexit is now, it must be done."
LOL
