THE circumstances for starting the negotiations for Britain’s withdrawal from the EU could scarcely have begun in less favourable circumstances.
We have a weakened Government which has lost its majority and a Prime Minister who has so far only narrowly avoided being deposed by her own party.
The country is reeling from last week’s fire at Grenfell Tower and from another despicable terror attack.
It is not exactly the start anyone would have wished for a nation bravely and confidently starting out on its own in the world.
All this said, The Brexit Secretary David Davis and his team should be embarking on them in exactly the same way as they would have done had the past two weeks not happened.
It is wrong to suggest, as many Remainers have done, that the general election result was a vote against what they call a “hard” Brexit.
That is just wishful thinking on the part of people who are in denial about the will of the British people. In fact 84 per cent of the British people voted for parties which are committed to withdrawal – and proper withdrawal – of Britain from the EU.
AFP
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell made it clear last week that while Labour has some differences over Brexit, it supports our exit from the single market.
If the electorate had wanted to reverse Brexit, it could easily have done so by voting Lib Dem, SNP, Green or Plaid Cymru. Yet only 12 per cent of voters plumped for these parties.
The Lib Dems’ share of the vote, unlike that of the Conservatives, went down. The vision laid out by Theresa May in her Lancaster House speech in January remains valid.
We should be seeking a free-trade deal that allows tariff-free access to the single market – along with EU access to the British market. We should opt in to cross-border co-operation in many areas such as security. But we should regain control of our borders and of the right to negotiate our own deals outside the EU.
Within this framework there is ample room for compromise. It shouldn’t take too long for example to agree to guarantee the residency rights of EU citizens who are already living in Britain – in return for the EU agreeing to uphold the rights of British citizens living elsewhere.
EPA
The Government should offer a limited right of free movement of people between Britain and the EU. Regaining control of our own borders does not mean trying to stop all migration.
We should have no problem in conceding the right of EU citizens to come to Britain to study or to work for defined periods – so long as we are not obliged to pay benefits to foreign citizens until they have been working and paying taxes in Britain for some time. As for access to the free market we will have to accept EU standards when we trade with EU countries.
In many cases it will be sensible for Britain to adopt the same consumer standards – so long as it is the decision of our own sovereign parliament. What we mustn’t do is to cede our right – post-Brexit – to negotiate our own trade deals with countries external to the EU.
This is what would happen if we did, as Chancellor Philip Hammond suggested, and remained in the EU Customs Union. By doing so we would be throwing away one of the huge advantages of Brexit.
The EU has been very slow at opening up trade with the rest of the world, partly because of the need to balance the interests of 28 states with very different economies and partly because the EU is heavily influenced by powerful protectionist lobbies such as farming. Outside the Customs Union we would be able to do as Switzerland has done and open up trade with countries such as China and Japan, where the EU has failed.
AFP
Since the vote for Brexit, several countries, including South Korea, Australia, India and the US, have indicated that they are keen to do deals with us. Why Philip Hammond thinks it would be a good idea to deprive ourselves of this opportunity is a mystery but unfortunately Theresa May is not in a strong enough position to slap him down.
Over the past few days there have been calls for Britain to adopt a relationship with the EU akin to that of Norway, or modelled on that of Switzerland.
There is something to be said for either country’s position but it would show a lack of confidence in the strength of the UK economy if we went to the EU and asked for a deal modelled on an arrangement with an existing country.
SWNS
As the world’s fifth largest economy we ought to be able to end up with a tailor-made deal.
To listen to some Remainers you would think that David Davis was going cap in hand to Brussels to plead for a deal when of course trade is a two-way process. The idea that we need the EU more than the EU needs us is bunk – the EU sells us more than we sell them.
Domestic politics is not going to be easy for Theresa May and her Government over the next few months. There is still a chance that the deal with the DUP will fall through, the Government loses a confidence vote and we end up with another general election. But that is something that our negotiating team will have to put to the back of its mind.
The stronger the Government puts its case in Brussels the stronger it will be at home.
