The Prime Minister's New Deal by George Royce
The new deal is out. The legal text has been released. However, right off the bat, it must be noted that just 27 pages were looked at and the rest of Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement remains unchanged. The focal point of Boris’s negotiations has been the backstop. The Brady Amendment clearly stated that alternative arrangements would be sought to replace the Irish backstop.
The legal text has been released. All in all there are 6 main points that have to be covered as these are the greatest concerns.
Arbitration and governance of the agreement
First and foremost, this deal won’t be enforced and governed as an equal partnership would be. The ECJ has full arbitration rights and UK courts are overridden. Under Boris’s deal, the UK will still be governed by existing and future laws of the ECJ, with the UK having no say whatsoever. If we ever have a problem with the agreement, we can take it to no other court except the ECJ. Do you think the EU’s courts will side in our favour? I highly doubt it.
Armed Forces
Our Armed Forces must always be under the full control of our Her Majesty’s Government. Brexiteers will not stand to have our foreign policy regarding war and conflict to be influenced or dictated by any foreign entity. We would cripple our right to help our allies and use our armed forces to protect our interests abroad if the EU were able to block any foreign policy that would not be in its own favour. However, this part of the treaty remains unchanged.
In Article 129 page 204 clause 6 to 7, it's pretty damning stuff. Clause 6 clearly shows Britain will not have its own independent security policy. Instead, cases that conflict with the EU’s own security policy will need to be brought to the EU Council for approval. It states “the United Kingdom shall refrain from any action likely to conflict with or impede Union action based on that decision, and the Member States shall respect the position of the United Kingdom.”
Quite clearly this means the UK will not have full control of its own foreign policy regarding security. Or rather it will not be allowed to implement a policy that the EU doesn’t like. We’re putting our national security into the hands of the EU. They can do what they like to protect their own interests but we can’t. It's also clear that PESCO will be an institution that the UK still follows, which means contributing troops to the EU’s Defence Union plans. Via the backdoor, the UK will have joined the EU Army, supplying it with British soldiers and funding.
In clause 7, although we keep paying into the European Defence Agency, we can’t participate in any of its operations. We’re still paying the pensions of EDA workers, and paying into their own research programs. Again, this is one of May’s gremlins. We’re paying for the creation of an EU Army. We’re also kicked out from participating in a leadership capacity in any European Defence battlegroups and training exercises. British soldiers will not be led by British commanders, but EU commanders instead. The EU Council trumps any British Government in one of the most serious of all issues, that is defence and security.
Immigration
Despite the great words of Priti Patel who, for the past few weeks has been championing a points-based immigration system there is a grey area opening in the deal. The Revised Political Declaration puts a spanner in the works. In Clause IV for ‘mobility’, point 47 states “The mobility arrangements will be based on non-discrimination between the Union's Member States and full reciprocity.” This is quite clever wording. Non-discriminatory means any future immigration policy will need to be in full alignment with the EU’s policy around the free movement of people. Presumably, ‘non-discriminatory’ is designed to negate a skills-based immigration policy that would only allow in workers who had job prospects, interviews already lined up and with skills the Government has decided our economy needs.
Fisheries
Regarding fisheries and aquaculture, The Common Fisheries Policy continues as per clause 46 of the Revised Political Declaration, “establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy.” Yet again, for the fourth time a deal that casts our coastal communities aside is being touted as a ‘great deal’. Although it is stated this will continue during the transitional period, it can and most likely will be extended in perpetuity. Again the EU wants “non-discriminatory access” to our fishing waters.
We must put our fisherman and independent trawlers first and regain full control of our territorial fisheries. You can expect EU quotas to only be given to French fisherman rather than our own. As for monitoring these fisheries, that right is being given to the Common Fisheries system which will no doubt favour EU member states. Mr Macron wanted exactly this.
Taxation
In Annex 4 of the deal, in Article 1 Clause 3, it states “The Union and the United Kingdom, reflecting the direction set by the G20-OECD BEPS Action Plan, reaffirm their commitment to curb harmful tax measures.” This is incredibly damaging to our economy. We must have a totally independent taxation policy, which will allow us to set corporation tax to a far more attractive level than we currently have now. Mrs Merkel stated this week that she feared the UK becoming a giant Singapore. I thank the EU for being honest. They fear an economy that will be seen as a far better prospect to international businesses large and small, as well as foreign investors. The EU is a protectionist bloc, one which stifles innovation. When you have a low tax business sector, you’re allowing businesses to grow and expand thanks to their own investments of revenue
The UK will also follow infringement proceedings for breaches of state aid rules that have yet to be specified. VAT on Commodities derivative transactions will also be collected by the EU; the furthest dating back to the 1970s.
Customs Union and ‘Level playing field’
Northern Ireland will continue to be subject to EU customs laws and is still in regulatory alignment for goods.
Any future trade deal that does not conform to the Customs Union will have to cut Northern Ireland out of it. Inherently, this puts Northern Ireland on a different and separate customs and trading status, to that of the rest of the UK. The UK does not get back full autonomy regarding international trade.
The agreement also ensures that the UK will follow a ‘level playing field’. Another bombshell to British business and trade. In layman's terms, this would prevent the UK from becoming an innovative economy, that sets world standards in all sectors. It would dramatically prevent the British economy from becoming a global business and trading hub. The EU doesn’t want British products to be made with the freedom of thinking outside of the stringent regulations it sets that already strangle competition in the Eurozone.
For these reasons the DUP are staunchly against Boris’s deal and why also, Boris took away the DUP’s right to consent. The DUP will vote against the deal on Saturday.
The Bruges Group and The Bow Group have had their lawyers look at it and after much scrutinisation, both senior Tory pressure groups have rejected the deal. They describe it as a reheat of Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement.
After all of this we are still going to be paying the EU £39 Billion as the fee for leaving.
I had hoped Boris would get back a deal that would well and truly deliver Brexit. However, after reading the details of the Revised Protocol and the complete Withdrawal Agreement, I’m afraid it’s not Brexit. We would be falling into associate membership of the EU. I thank Boris for trying. But we would not be getting our fisheries back, we would be abandoning Northern Ireland, we would still be ruled over by the ECJ, our armed forces would be subject to EU control, we could not set our own tax policy and we would have to exclude a part of our precious union when it came to international trade deals.
With clear conscience, I cannot support this deal. It’s 95% of Theresa May’s abject surrender but with a bit of lipstick. The EU are scared of an independent United Kingdom. They will never agree to a deal which doesn’t favour the European Project. We have now arrived at the point of TINA. There is no alternative, we must make a clean break with the EU and fully back a No Deal Brexit. If that means a General Election first, that’s nothing we should be in fear of. The public are fully on the side of Brexit and No Deal has now jumped ahead of any other option.
Written by George Royce