The way to progress is via consultation
WHY does our Government think that the best way to make progress is to break its word and act without telling “our friends and partners” in Europe what it needs to do to make Brexit work?
Last autumn the Northern Ireland Secretary stated that the UK would break parts of the Internal Market
Bill if it suited us, even though we had agreed a settlement a few months earlier.
Now we have unilaterally stated that we would extend the grace period over the export of some products to Northern Ireland from the end of March to October.
UK residents might say these are only details, but in Northern Ireland each sudden change dangerously raises the political temperature.
Far worse for the success of Brexit is the unnecessary provoking of Brussels and the shredding of our international reputation.
Our Government is supposed to discuss with Brussels any changes to the Brexit agreement that it wishes to make and the EU is committed to do the same. On Wednesday the change that is essential to prevent more empty shelves in Belfast was announced in London with no consideration even to inform Brussels as to what was coming. The EU said this was a “hammer blow” and “deeply unhelpful”.
Is our Government incompetent and does not understand that you make progress by consultation and persuasion?
Or worse, is it that they continue to think that the “new” global Britain can get what it wants by pushing the others around as if we still had an Empire and expected obedience from less important people?
The only way we will be able to build new trade agreements is if our word is trusted across the globe.
It’s as if, because of one truly major achievement – the vaccinations – the Government thinks that we have the respect of the world.
The maintenance of UK values, for which Brexit was unleashed, used to include valuing others and clever diplomacy. Why do Brexit if we lose other’s trust and even after it “has been done” we continue to self-harm?
Bexit was achieved, to a great extent, by Mr Farage and the man who gave large donations to Ukip, Arron Banks.They took great pride in calling themselves “the bad boys of Brexit”. Surely our Government does not want us to be the “bad boys of world trade”? That would make the “teething problems” of Brexit into a permanent cancer.
By the way, where is Mr Farage now that we need his leadership to help us become “world-leading”?
Jeremy Hall Crockernwell, Exeter