A personal triumph in PM’s grasp and a festive gift that’s cause for celebration
EVEN if it had been scripted by Charles Dickens, that great chronicler of festive Britain, one might have set aside t he book, head shaking in disbelief. Last night, with the seconds ticking down to Christmas Eve, news emerged of what to millions of sensible Britons wearied by the Brexit wars will be a marvellous gift.
More than four years after Britain voted in unprecedented numbers to cast off the EU’s shackles and become a truly sovereign nation, Boris Johnson was on the brink of announcing he had secured a trade deal with the bloc.
It’s a sign of these unquiet times that reports of a resolution to the struggle which has dominated British and European politics since 2016 were greeted more with relief than wild exultation.
On a day when Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that yet another new Covid variant had descended on us, people were hardly i n the mood for celebration.
But if we do finally have a deal that honours the fundamentals of Brexit, while at the same time facilitating frictionless trade with our biggest commercial partner, that is a truly historic achievement.
Less than a week ago, negotiations seemed mired in recrimination. The two sides appeared unable to reconcile fundamental differences.
Of course, it was in both sides’ best interests to strike a mutually lucrative pact, with zero tariffs and quotas.
Thanks to the bloc’s mule-headed posturing, however, it looked increasingly likely we would sever ties without a trade agreement.
Like two boats drifting inexorably closer to the lip of a waterfall though, their brinkmanship risked disaster, the precipice of a costly No Deal looming closer.
With both our economies already wrecked by Covid, that would have been catastrophic.
For Mr Johnson, a deal — barring any last-minute glitches — would be nothing short of a triumph. Just think back to July last year when he became Prime Minister.
Brexit negotiations were stuck in a quagmire, with his minority Tory government at the mercy of grandstanding backbenchers.
Despite solemnly agreeing to act in the national interest and implement the extraordinary and unexpected Leave result, an out- of-touch, elitist Parliament — merrily assisted by supercilious, sabotaging then-Speaker John Bercow — cynically attempted to steal it.
In the same pincer movement, the dogmatic federalists of Brussels — whose European project is on financial and political life support — sought to overtly punish us f or having the effrontery to leave.
Incredibly, as recently as November last year, the Government was stuck in a Brexit quagmire. Politics had ground to an acrimonious halt.
But within a few short months, Mr Johnson had achieved the seemingly i mpossible by negotiating a withdrawal agreement and driving it through Parliament.
He f ollowed that up by routing Corbynism to win a landslide general election majority, the infuriated public turning a tidal wave of wrath on the preening political class.
Now it seems he has steered us to sovereign statehood without the severe disruption of No Deal.
By doing so, Mr Johnson has given his critics a bloody nose.
Arch-Remainers relentlessly sneered that it would be impossible for the UK to get a good deal (and, secretly and not-so-secretly, willed the EU to make an example of us). That the ailing eurozone should shun a deal with the world’s fifth largest economy.
Once again, they appear to be on the wrong side of history.
If the PM refused to buckle in the pivotal final days, as the end of the transition period nears on December 31, he will have stayed true to the desires of the British people.
Throughout the entire negotiations, Mr Johnson has tried to behave in a civilised manner to avoid an acrimonious break up. That, unfortunately, was not true of the EU, which has acted unreasonably from the beginning.
No10 was clear all along that it merely sought a deal on the same terms as those offered to other nations, such as Canada and Japan.
But in a bid to retain Britain within its sphere of influence, the protectionist bloc wanted us to mimic its regulations in perpetuity, accepting diktats from Brussels after we depart. What independent country could agree to such patently unrealistic demands?
Leave aside that it would make Britain a rule-taker (with no say on the rules). It would also hobble our competitiveness, just at the moment we sought to become economically more nimble to t ap i nto f r uitf ul new business opportunities and emerging markets.
Brussels al s o made l udicrous demands for unfettered access to Britain’s rich fishing waters and to make us abide by the judgements of the European courts.
Boris would know that by failing to regain control of our money, borders, seas and laws – as explicitly instructed by voters – he would be signing his own political death warrant. That’s why through perseverance, determination and a refusal to be bullied, he seems to have pulled a rabbit out of the hat. If at f i ve seconds t o midnight an amicable, fair agreement has been reached with our Continental neighbours, that will be a victory for levelheaded pragmatism.
We’ve yet to see the detail of course. How much ground has been given on the key areas of dispute will naturally be the focus of attention.
Both sides will doubtless say they stood firm and forced the other to blink. The truth will inevitably lie somewhere in between.
Some of the Brexit ultras will be unhappy with anything short of total victory. They were positively looking forward to a No Deal outcome, absolving us of the need for any formal accommodation with Brussels.
Diehard Remainers will say that whatever has been agreed is worse than staying in, deploying the old argument that we would have been better trying to reform the EU from its centre, rather than opting for an uncertain future on our own.
But the vast majority of the population fall somewhere in between these two extremes. They want Brexit done, they want a credible trade deal and they want this country to break the inertia and move on.
Until t he deal has been gone through with a fine-tooth comb, questions remain.
The challenges the PM faces — and the consequences — are stark. The European Research Group of Tory ‘spartans’ warned it would convene a ‘Star Chamber’ of experts to pore over the documents line by line.
Nigel Farage accused him of betrayal before the deal was even published.
Economically, of course, our fishing industry is tiny. But of Britain’ s maritime tradition, it is totemic.
The prospect of the UK regaining full control of our fishing waters was not only an attractive argument for Brexit, it also proved an election-winner for the Tories.
By contrast, selling out on fish could cost him not only t he coastal communities who helped secure those seismic victories.
Moreover, any less than being seen to ‘take back control’ from Brussels would see a sledgehammer taken to the ‘Red Wall’ seats seized from Labour.
But it is essential to remember that negotiations are not all ‘take, take, take’. Compromises must be made on both sides. It would be foolhardy to die in a ditch on minuscule matters, especially when Britain and the EU are in the teeth of a pandemic crisis. For all the jubilation of a deal within touching distance, we should not forget that immense challenges lie ahead.
In particular, our Governments must also focus on accelerating the rollout of the Covid vaccine. Not only would a widespread inoculation save lives and prevent the NHS becoming overwhelmed, it would allow Mr Johnson to reopen the country — igniting our economic engine.
But are ministers primed to open popup clinics and makeshift immunisation centres in sports halls? Are retired medics and student nurses being readied to join the push to vaccinate the population?
If as anticipated the Oxford jab is approved next week, we need to sprint out of the blocks, not limp from them.
It would be an act of self-harm to remain for months in the economic deep-freeze after re gaining our independence. The nation needs to be freed from this ruinous lockdown as soon as possible, so we can capitalise on new opportunities.
After a dreadful 2020, the country needs and deserves a transformative 2021. Thankfully, when we are ready to fly, we will no longer be hampered by endless Groundhog Day bickering with our closest neighbours. And that truly is a merry Brexmas.