The parallels between Brexit and Dunkirk – and a way off the beach

Just like earlier times, we need resilience and imagination – but there is a route to victory

We are trapped, pinned down, desperately trying to extricate ourselves from Europe, but unsure if it will be possible. The masters of the continent are seeking to exact a heavy price for our departure. Can we make it through? The answer is: yes we can!

This is not Brexit, of course, but Dunkirk in 1940, the darkest hour in British history. A brilliant new film by Christopher Nolan retells this epic story of national redemption in a way that stirs the patriotic blood, right down to the Elgar-accompanied finale.

Through extraordinary application, a good deal of luck and sheer gutsy determination, a total disaster was averted. More than that, it was turned into a triumph – the retreat of an entire army became central to the “very well, alone” spirit of resistance that sustained the country throughout the rest of the war and on to victory. The little ships that took more than 300,000 men off the beach are forever woven into our history.

Now, I am not seeking to compare Brexit to Dunkirk, though to listen to some diehard Remainers you might think we are on the verge of the same fate that might have befallen the country had the troops not escaped. Clearly, we are not facing the existential threat we were then. But there are parallels. We are standing alone with the continental powers intent on forging a single political entity, albeit this time without force of arms. It is also a deeply uncertain moment that requires, as it did then, resilience and imagination to get us through.

We have voted to get out of the EU. The issue is can we get from where we are to where we want to be in, say, five or 10 years’ time with as little damage inflicted upon the economy, the City and our body politic as possible?

We can if we come together to find a solution that everyone, save for the Tony Blairs of this world, can live with. That means the political parties uniting around an arrangement that ensures we fulfil the decision in the referendum; does not mean staying in the EU forever in some halfway house; allows us to control our borders and strike new trade deals; and will get through Parliament.

There is such an arrangement, which is to retain membership of the European Economic Area (EEA). For some reason some hard-line Brexiteers regard this prospect as tantamount to treason; but it is a perfectly legitimate, indeed sensible, approach. Nor is it being promoted by Remainers like Blair who simply want to ignore the referendum and stay in the EU. At a talk to the Civitas think tank yesterday, David Owen, the former Labour foreign secretary and one-time SDP leader, made a powerful argument for Britain remaining a contracting party to the EEA after 2019. Indeed, he has been making this point for ages and it is about time someone in the Government listened to him. After all, Brexit is not a purely Conservative process and supporters from other parties should be included in the deliberations.

The EEA is strictly an economic, not a political, arrangement. Article 1 of the agreement states as its aim the promotion “of a continuous and balanced strengthening of trade and economic relations… with a view to creating a homogeneous European Economic Area.” It does not, however, cover the Common Agricultural Policy, the Common Fisheries Policy, the Customs Union or Common Trade Policy. Remaining in the EEA would, therefore, enable the UK to continue trading goods and services freely within the Single Market.

In return, we would continue to have to pay into some EU budgets (but to a lesser extent than now) and abide by EU law in the areas covered by the EEA. As non-eu EEA States are not in the EU’S Common Trade Policy, the UK could enter into its own free-trade agreements. It is unclear to what extent we would have to accept free movement of workers. Liechtenstein is in the EEA and imposes tight immigration restrictions, so controls are allowed, though it would be more problematic for a country the size of the UK to impose them.

In any case, we are talking about a phased procedure, not a permanent one. It recognises that since the UK will be outside the EU for good, the means of achieving this end do not have to be precipitous. It is neither a “hard” nor a “soft” exit but a mechanism that provides the opportunity for getting to where we want to be by striking a mutually beneficial bargain implemented against a flexible timetable and with expedient transitional arrangements. It would satisfy the referendum mandate, from which there must be no retreat, and allow other matters like immigration controls time to bed in.

But is the EEA option still on the table? In her Article 50 letter beginning the countdown to Britain’s departure, Theresa May did not explicitly say we would leave the EEA when we depart the EU, though the Government takes the view that it happens automatically. But it is open to ministers to say that we want to stay in for a temporary period while other elements of Brexit are implemented.

From what we can gather, this is not a million miles from the policy being pushed by Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, who favours a transition period of two years or so. He said at the weekend that this is increasingly the view around the Cabinet table, though some ministers evidently don’t agree judging by the briefings against him. But since the prospect of a bespoke deal now seems to be off the table, the EEA option has renewed attractions to Brexit supporters like Lord Owen.

His solution gets us to where we want to be without falling off the edge that no one in their right mind would want to go over. The danger with the masochistic Brexit being promoted by some who demand a clean break and hang the consequences is that one of those consequences might be to stop it happening at all.

The political forces against Brexit are gathering strength again after the Tory election debacle, and Vince Cable’s observation that he can see the referendum outcome reversed needs to be taken seriously. The EEA offers benefits to the EU as well as to the UK in minimising the dislocation of Brexit. This all sounds pretty sensible and the Government should see it for what it is – a way off the beach.