Your points are well-made.

However, one thing that I note Brussels is desperately trying to sweep aside is that, last Friday, the continent of Europe had a dangerous "near-miss" with regards to the Irish border, all entirely due to reckless actions by the European Commission.

To use your terminology, I am a "tepid Remainer" but what happened last week should never, ever have allowed to happen. It calls into focus very serious and fundamental questions as to how the executive powers of the European Commission are held in check. Whilst I am yet to be persuaded by the long-term economic benefits of Brexit, I am very persuaded right now by two Brexiteer arguments:

1) The UK can throw out Boris for incompetence, but Ireland can't throw out Ursula when, in Ireland's name, she came within a stone's throw of reigniting sectarian troubles;

2) right now, despite an atrocious Covid death-rate, the UK is looking agile and nimble in its vaccination programme, compared to the lumbering monolith that is the EU as it lurges from disaster to disaster.

Putting it mildly, I am absolutely incandescent with how the European Commission behaved last week. The sobering fact is that the stakes are high - people across the EU are dying from Covid and their respective authorities are flailing around.

Whilst I don't wish the EU to break up, I would not be surprised if ordinary people within the EU are beginning to question whether it is actually acting in their best interests.

Boris might be back... within England only.

But Scotland?

As an avowed unionist, the situation in Scotland is dicey, to say the least.

Yes, Nicola has gone strangely and mercifully quiet since the EU monumentally cocked up over Article 16. And we can look forward to fireworks from Alex Salmond...

But, my fear is that the independence seed within Scotland is now too firmly sown that it can not easily be removed, regardless of who actually holds the reins of power in Holyrood.

The United Kingdom, as the world's most successful union, needs to be loved again by its inhabitants. I'm not sure "Boris is back" will cut it.

Wow - that's some "clumsy error" to not inform a Member State (Ireland) that you claim to stand by and also risk jeopardising peace in Ireland.

I'm afraid that, yesterday, the EU mask slipped and it's not a pretty sight!

Nice try, David, at defending the EU. But sorry - even moderates like me with no particular axe to grind are shocked to the core over what the EU did yesterday regarding Article 16.

Put simply, saving people's lives from Covid and preserving peace on the island of Ireland are not trivial matters. In the space of 24 hours, the EU showed to the world that it is incapable of delivering either.

It makes Boris look like an accomplished statesman - and that's saying something!

Good article.

I'm slowly giving up on the London-centric MSM who constantly cast aspertions and doubt on the UK/US relationship. For me, the reality is that there is far more that the US and UK have in common (on defence and the environment) than divides the two countries. Yes, Biden may have a view on Brexit and Northern Ireland Protocol, but it is the US's interest to have a reliable ally in the UK rather than an alienated one.

A thoughtful paper from Alistair Burt - much of which I agree with.

For me, the key question is how much clout will the UK really have post-Brexit?

A genuine example of UK success has been on the "net zero" debate. The UK was the first major economy to legislate for "net zero" by 2050. The EU then followed that lead. Will Joe Biden essentially follow suit, given the departure of Trump?

Can the UK then replicate that success on other foreign policy matters? In my opinion, the jury is out as it will depend on the calibre and credibility of the UK Prime Minister of the day in this new and brave post-Brexit world. Was ever going to be thus...

It's not just the Lib Dems; it's the SNP who bang on about Europe as well, even if for opportunistic reasons to justify indyref2.

As a Tory voter and staunch unionist based in England, I worry that the tone of ConservativeHome is very England-centric. We need to start talking as a United Kingdom again.

Easy to say; increasingly very hard to do thanks to botched devolution (in my opinion). Stitching the UK back together again, I fear, is going to be very challenging given that opinion polls north of the border look set to return a majority-SNP government again in 2021 (which, thanks to the hubris of Blair and a poor choice of electoral system, was never supposed to happen).

Serious suggestion - a role for NATO (through which the UK can influence)? Even if the UK were still a member of the EU (which clearly we're not now), I'm not persuaded the EU has the institutional strength to make serious foreign policy interventions.

The strategic role of NATO in world affairs seems to have fallen into abeyance. Could we learn lesson from the Iraq war of 2003 and expand the scope of NATO to deal with situations like Israel?

With respect, you miss again that the European Commission also proposes legislation. It’s role is not merely limited to organising the implementation of decisions from member states.

This article from the Independent intrigued me: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/c...

A kind interpretation is von der Leyen was pleading with member states to keep the borders open. But, rightly in my opinion, they ignored her.

So again I repeat - what’s the point of the European Commission?

You also missed - the European Commission, together with the European Court of Justice, enforces EU law including freedom of movement.

But if we have a position where the EU Commission can be ignored because, as you appear to be saying, EU nations never lost control of their borders, I repeat my question - what’s the point of the EU Commission?