A transitional arrangement could easily end up meaning another five years until Brexit means Brexit. That could mean Brexit doesn't happen at all. The talk of a transitional arrangement needs to stop. Let's just get Britain out, and stop the dithering
It recently emerged Brexit Secretary David Davis and Chancellor, Philip Hammond have been having weekly meetings, in which -- among other things -- they have agreed on pursuing a so-called ‘transitional deal’.
This would mean staying in the Single Market, unable to control our borders, and quite possibly unable to control our laws and trade policy – things we we voted for in the EU Referendum -- for an extra two or more years, possibly kicking Brexit even further down the road and into the long grass.
It’s a dangerous route to go down, and smacks of some politicians still trying to water down, or even halt Brexit.
We have already waited almost a year for Article 50 to be triggered, and some politicians are now proposing we wait for up to 5 years for the Brexit negotiations to be completed.
They are talking about transitional arrangements which could extend this into at least a 5-year wait until Brexit means Brexit. Worse still, while promises of a set exit date may be given, we all know how reliable the EU is about its promises.
Any such transitional deal could well be extended over and over again, while our politicians’ resolve is ground down, railroading us into a soft, or even, a fake Brexit.
Proponents argue business needs time to adapt. If we are to have a deal, it will have to have been reached well before two years are up, so the EU has time to approve it, which will in itself take months.
By the end of 2019, business would already have had plenty of time to understand Brexit would be happening -- and months of knowing the exact details. In our modern economy, businesses must move fast. The time they are given to adapt will be ample. With plenty of notice given, it would hardly be a cliff-edge -- more a gentle hillock. The media and the Remainers should stop using such emotive language.
Not only would a transitional arrangement be unnecessary, it would be a slap in the face for Brexiteers whose patience has already been stretched thin.
This red herring could even damage negotiations. This would be seen as the UK asking the EU for a favour, wasting valuable negotiating time. Trying to call in such a ‘favour’ would make us seem weak -- to the world and to the EU -- as if we are not prepared for what our aim is, to Get Britain Out of the EU. This would be of no benefit to a global Brexit Britain.
