One of the most disagreeable aspect of the arguments made by hard-core Brexiters is that when they are cornered they just revert to slogans and slurs. There have been too many to count but include such nebulous stuff as; Take Back Control, Brexit means Brexit and references to the “establishment”.
One issue on which I do agree with Reigate’s current MP is that the Prime Minister’s deal is a bad one. As an EU Member State, we (UK) had a vote and the means to influence and change European legislation. The Withdrawal Agreement (WA) means applying EU law in the UK for at least two years after 29 March next year. To an extent this is a given, as current EU law is being translated into UK law at this moment. I believe the problem arises in automatically adopting changes that we (UK) had no means amend or reject. This is hardly a return of the sovereignty we pooled as a Member State.
Accompanying the WA is a Political Declaration (PD). This is problematic too. Much as it is advantageous to have an indication of future intentions of the part of both EU and UK, the whole document is remarkably nebulous. It might be said that the PD is better than nothing, but it doesn’t much help decision-makers or investors who must act in the transition period.
Put the WA and PD together and they become the starting point for another couple of years of difficult negotiations between the EU and UK. Clearly, it would be in both sides strong interests to arrive at a new deal at the end of the transition period. That new EU-UK deal could be a model for many others across the globe.
Reigate’s current MP anticipates failure in this endeavour even before it starts. I’m often shocked how little confidence is shown in professional British civil servants. You could say; if they can’t get a good win-win deal with our partners of 40 years what hope is there for the rest of the world? None.
In the end, no deal can be as good as the deal we already have as an EU Member State.
Today, there are 28 EU Member States. The membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has 164 members. Just do the maths. Negotiating with a smaller number is undoubtably easier than with a larger number. In the media there’re endless naive statements made about reverting to WTO rules. Almost no one trades only on WTO rules and those rules don’t cover many vital sectors.
We (UK) would pay a heavy cost for a “No Deal” outcome between the EU and UK. It is not a sane option.
John Vincent 