Trade deals no better then what we’ve got

It’s been a year since the 2019 General Election. While the Liberal Democrats increased their vote share nationally and performed well locally, with strong second places in Maidenhead , Windsor and Wokingham, overall it was a disappointing election for us and a clear win for the Conservatives with their promise to Get Brexit Done. The country was promised an

“oven-ready deal”, the easiest deal in history, lots of new trade deals, continued frictionless borders and so on.

The reality a year on is sobering. No one foresaw COVID-19 but the end of the Brexit transition was entirely foreseeable. Boris Johnson was offered a year’s extension which most voters would surely have understood in the circumstances, but he chose not to take it.

And where are we now? With barely two weeks to go until we start our new trading relationship with the EU – deal or no deal – businesses still have no idea what the postBrexit regime will look like. How on earth can any business prepare for this, except by setting up outside Britain, as many have done? What about individuals who depend on the continued availability of life-saving drugs now threatened by disruption at UK ports? Even the lorry parks in Kent apparently won’t be ready for January 1!

Our local Conservative MPs, all of whom have contributed to this mess, now owe us a big apology. But I have one question for all of them. Knowing what we know now, what is the upside of Brexit to Britain? If it’s about sovereignty, then to do what exactly? To sign new trade deals – they don’t appear to be forthcoming and none are on better terms than we have already? To make our own laws – well which laws exactly will we change and how will this benefit us?

As Sir Michael Heseltine has said just this week “We are constantly told of a glorious tomorrow. All that is missing is a shred of evidence or a single fact.”

JULIAN TISI Windsor Liberal Democrats