Internal Market Bill is a complete mess

THE Internal Market Bill is more than just the breaking of an international agreement signed by the Prime Minister less than a year ago.

It is to give notice and to enable the British Government to break the conditions agreed prior to both the EU and UK signing it and, as Mr Riordon correctly says, making it an international treaty.

The very fact that notice is given in the Internal Market Bill that if needs be Britain will attempt to operate outwith the agreed terms of the withdrawal treaty of 2019 is in itself a breech of that treaty should this mess of potage ever become law. And that is not all.

This IMB has already raised the hackles of the devolved governments in Scotland, in Ireland and in

Wales for it is a blunt attempt by the Johnson Government to garner powers, particularly financial and economic powers, to the Westminster executive from the three devolved parliaments.

It is a shrouded attempt to bring centralised economic power back to the Westminster executive and so establish a Westminster dominant UK wide infrastructure determined and controlled by the Westminster executive, taken from the three devolved Parliaments.

As an example... The Scottish Government might wish to bring in some additional tax on some elements of its economy. This internal market Act could... would nullify that ability of devolved governments to alter its tax regime to suit – meet – its own needs.

The Johnson EU negotiations had settled a deal with the EU to see Northern Ireland without a southern customs border but with certain strict conditions as to the movement of goods and services to Northern Ireland from the UK . It has been known for a while that this IMB could... would breech that agreement.

It has already been said that the Johnson deal was inferior to that negotiated by his predecessor, Mrs May.

A deal that he voted against. Mr Johnson was one of the 38% of MP who voted for Parliament to accept a no deal exit from the EU when in 2019, 62% of MPs voted to exclude any no deal exit from the EU.

He is reliant on the support of a large section of his MPs who strongly support the ERG and a no deal exit from the EU and favour some chlorine-washed deal trumped up in America.

A no deal exit would be blamed on something called EU intransigence; we will be “encouraged” to blame, name and dislike our dear friends and neighbours across the channel. Don Frampton Newton Abbot