Ink’s not dry but Nicola’s stoking grievance again
AT long last we have confirmation of our new trading relationship with the European Union.
From January 1, 2021 the United Kingdom will exit the Brexit transition phase and become a fully independent trading nation, able to forge new partnerships with countries across the globe.
We are finally at the end of our journey to leave the EU. This process, which started when 17.4 million people including more than one million Scots, voted Leave in a UKwide referendum back in June 2016, has dominated our politics throughout the past four and a half years.
I know how strongly and deeply divided people’s views on this issue have been throughout the process.
During the vote in 2016, my Moray constituency saw one of the closest votes anywhere in the country when only 122 votes separated Leave and Remain, but for many a deal was the best way forward.
There had been suggestions we should have delayed the end of the transition period for the sake of our economy. In reality another extension would have had the opposite effect and been deeply damaging to businesses, who have made preparations for a specific exit date and instead would have had to continue to comply with EU rules.
It would also have been undemocratic for us to continue to follow EU laws and regulations, with no say in their making.
Whatever way we voted and whatever our opinion of the process to deliver it, the fact is at the end of this month we will be an independent trading nation. Our economy and exports will now compete with not just those in the EU, but also countries around the world.
This is the first free trade agreement the EU has ever reached based on zero tariffs and zero quotas and it is fantastic news for families and
businesses in every part of the UK. The agreement also ensures the worldrenowned Scottish products such as Scotch whisky, Arbroath Smokies and Orkney cheddar will be protected in the EU with geographical indications.
Our new relationship means that we now have control over our state aid regime. This means that the government can better support businesses and employers from the catastrophic impact that we have seen recently in Scotland. In future, we will be able to prevent another BiFab, where millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money have been lost yet jobs have not been saved.
It also means that we can right a historic wrong and rebuild our coastal communities. Throughout our 47 years of EU membership, Scottish fishermen received a poor deal thanks to the hated Common Fisheries Policy. We will now reap the rewards of the fish in our waters, having left the EU’s unfair ocean grab. That is great news for Scottish fishermen and Scotland’s coastal communities, and we can reinvigorate some of the poorest communities.
Yet the SNP are intent on using the end of the transition period as another excuse to push their demands for a second i ndependence referendum. For them, it has really been about manufacturing grievances to keep their arguments relevant.
They do not want our county to move on from constitutional politics, even in the middle of a pandemic which has significantly damaged jobs and businesses and seen more than 6,000 Scottish lives lost. They are also actively holding Scotland back from being able to take advantage of the benefits of leaving the EU. For example, the SNP are flat out refusing to work with the UK Government to explore the idea of Scottish freeports, even though it could benefit some of the most deprived parts of our country.
They are putting their nationalist ideology ahead of reality, preferring to campaign against something that has already happened rather than making the best out of this opportunity.
I am optimistic. I believe in the inventiveness, imagination and resourcefulness of people in Scotland and across the whole of the UK. Those qualities will ensure we can rebuild our country from this pandemic and make our country a success outside the European Union.