This battle is not about the EU or even Northern Ireland – it’s Johnson fighting his own MPs

‘Despite Boris Johnson’s claims, there is an acceptance in government that the EU will see this as a very hostile manoeuvre.’ Photograph: Aaron Chown/AFP/Getty Images

A weakened prime minister facing a party divided on Brexit and a European Union that is inclined to wait and negotiate with their eventual successor. No, not Theresa May. This time, it’s Boris Johnson. After the government revealed on Monday evening the bill it plans to use to unilaterally rewrite parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, it’s the current Tory leader who is being squeezed two ways.

Problems with the Northern Ireland protocol are nothing new. Almost as soon as Johnson agreed to the new trading arrangement between the UK and EU, issues started to arise. The prime minister’s insistence that there would be no checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland or vice versa quickly proved to be wide of the mark. As time has gone on, the problems with the trade barriers have become more apparent – with some mainland businesses simply giving up on sending goods to Northern Ireland because of the onerous bureaucracy.