Is there a way to keep most people happy regarding Brexit? There is: Sexit

When all solutions are bad, it’s time to reinvent the problem. Is it still possible to honour the initial Brexit referendum without crossing the EU’s red lines? Yes – through semi-Brexit.

The UK is divided into four nations, two of which voted remain and two of which voted leave. The British government could honour those decisions and allow Scotland and Northern Ireland to remain in the EU as the successor state to the UK, while permitting England and Wales (if it still wants to) to exit.

Semi-Brexit does not mean breaking up the UK. Rather the reverse: semi-Brexit may be the only way to hold the UK together. If the UK drags Scotland and Northern Ireland out of the EU, the chances of a UK breakup are much higher. But if Scotland and Northern Ireland remain, then England and Wales would have more flexibility to negotiate a better deal. Third states – that is, states outside the EU – cannot cherry-pick the bits of the EU that they want and reject those bits they don’t. But parts of EU member states that are otherwise outside the EU can.

At least 35 countries and territories already have special deals with the EU that include, for example, free movement of goods into the EU without triggering the free movement of EU nationals back. Or deals that include something close to free trade without the jurisdiction of the European court of justice (ECJ). And on and on and on. The combinations of inside-EU privileges with extra-EU independence are very nearly endless. And they already exist.

There’s just one catch: the territories that get to cherry-pick from the EU in these ways must remain constitutionally attached to a current EU member state. From “outermost regions” (nine of them) to “overseas territories” (25 of them) to bespoke agreements with the EU on the part of special regions (a half dozen or so), far-flung – and not so far-flung – territories have worked out special arrangements with the EU through their associated member state.

One does not have to look far to see how. The Isle of Man has free trade with the EU for agricultural and manufactured products but is otherwise not bound by EU law. Guernsey has free trade in goods more generally, but no EU nationals have free movement rights into Guernsey. In fact, the array of models one could use for a bespoke deal for England and Wales is nearly endless. But getting these options requires part of the UK to stay in the EU.