After a week of pomp and ceremony in Britain with the US presidential visit and the commemoration of the decisive battle in the Second World War, Prime Minister Theresa May left Downing Street for the last time this week.

The usual saying is that all political careers end in failure, but for Theresa May, the failure was greater than most.

Busy political week

Normally, political developments in Westminster are just a curiosity south of the border in Ireland and only marginally more in the North. However, with Brexit, it is the events in Westminster that will dictate the future fortunes of Irish farming - beef in particular, but also significant for sheep, pig and dairy farmers that trade their produce either way across the land border.

What is particularly worrying is that there appears little realisation among most of the Conservative party leadership candidates of how limited their options are and the difficult choices that will have to be made.

Basically, the UK will either have to leave the EU and trade under WTO terms, or sign the withdrawal agreement.

Trading under WTO terms means full borders and tariffs that they can vary, but not just for chosen countries, it would be for everyone.

Reality of life outside the EU

If, as they have suggested, they create a tariff-free quota similar to current import demand, this would be open to Brazil in the same way as Ireland.

Before the 31 March deadline, the UK made it clear that it wouldn’t be imposing a border on the island of Ireland, but if there is no deal, it is impossible to visualise the EU changing its position on requiring a hard border.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal last week ahead of him accompanying the Dutch king on his visit to Ireland next week, the Dutch foreign Minister Stef Blok was clear in his view that the EU had to maintain its external borders.

Options limited

There is always the hope that the UK will find a way of passing the withdrawal agreement, but even then, the tough work of negotiating a new trading arrangement with the EU begins.

There was a timely reminder this week of what will be involved, with President Trump speaking about making a trade deal with the UK post-Brexit.

The US will be insisting on its chicken and beef getting access to the UK and that is a further reminder of why the avoidance of a hard border in Ireland is impossible.

The choices facing the UK are stark, with going for a full-blown Brexit, leaving but remaining tied to EU rules, or changing their mind about leaving at all.

With UK society so evenly divided, it is impossible a second referendum would reverse the decision.

For Irish farmers, the fervent wish would be for this to happen.