Harry Todd
On 18 April 2019 14:20
The United Kingdom is the fifth largest economy in the world, is home to four of the top ten universities in the world, stands with fifty-two other nations in the Commonwealth as free and equal partners, was one of the founding nations of the World Trade Organisation, and a co-author of the WTO rules under which the majority of the world's trade is based.
Why then would it ever be a bad idea for Britain to leave the European Union on World Trade Organisation rules?
A WTO Brexit would allow the UK to regain the competitive advantages we have lost over the last three decades of further EU integration and creeping euro-socialism. In areas such as market flexibility and regulatory freedom a clean WTO Brexit would cast off the shackles that have fettered our economy and allow the UK to embrace new ideas and innovations in the same way we did in the 1980s when we stepped out from under the thumb of failed Keynesian economic policies and grew to become one of the worlds leading financial powerhouses.
Further a WTO Brexit would give the UK the ability to determine our own trading priorities as a nation. Will we buy beef from Brazil? Do we choose to trade with China? Should we deepen our connections with India and the Commonwealth? Under the proposed withdrawal agreement these choices would be taken away from the UK and potentially our access to these burgeoning markets would still be decided in Brussels despite the public having voted to separate ourselves from the unaccountable bureaucrats that stalk the halls of the EU commission looking to engorge themselves at the UK's expense.
In that same vein, a WTO Brexit would bring democratic accountability back to our Parliament for those very decisions that our elected government has been ever so content to abdicate. I am a firm believer that decisions impacting our nation should be made in our Parliament and yet since joining the EU our ability as a nation to set our own laws and write our own regulations has been stifled by the unimaginative and unyielding Eurocrats that have attempted (quite successfully) to cleave all of Europe behind one-size fits all, cookie cutter policies that are applied unevenly and has lead to absurdities such as setting rules on when it is or isn't acceptable to eat horses!
I respect our neighbours in Europe. I truly wish them all the best, however the British public has spoken. They wanted to leave the European Union. They wanted the freedom to control our economy and set free Britain's great potential, they wanted the ability to choose our trading priorities with the rest of the world, and they wanted to bring accountability back to the Parliament that they elect.
The only option on the table which fulfils these criteria is a World Trade Organisation Brexit and that is definitely not something Britain should be afraid of.
Harry Todd is a Political Consultant with a number of successful campaigns under his belt. He was most recently National Ground Campaign Manager for Leave Means Leave.
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/7350/no_deal_is_nothing_to_fear
