Priti PATEL
One thousand, two hundred and thirteen days since the UK voted to leave the EU, we are finally on the brink of securing our departure. I have been campaigning for this for many years.
The Prime Minister has achieved what almost every commentator in the land and on the Continent said was impossible.
The Withdrawal Agreement was reopened. The Northern Ireland Protocol has been amended. The backstop is gone. All this achieved in the 85 days since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister. Just imagine what we could achieve in the next few years if we get Brexit done.
This is a deal that delivers on the referendum result. It means we take back control of our laws, trade, borders and money. We can use these freedoms to make our country even greater.
The previous deal put Brussels in the driving seat and gave them too much control. This was unacceptable and it’s why I and some of my colleagues voted against it three times.
But I firmly believe that MPS from all political parties should vote for this deal and get Brexit done.
The Political Declaration now points much more in the direction of a free-trade agreement, rather than the high-alignment model pursued by the previous government, which would have kept us stuck in the EU’S regulatory orbit indefinitely. This is what I and other Leave campaigners have advocated all along – we cannot let this chance slip.
There will not be dynamic alignment with EU regulations over which we would have no say. Instead, our sovereign Parliament will set the rules. This is what Brexit is all about.
Speaking to colleagues in my party, it’s amazing how much more united we are. Remainers and Leavers are singing from the same hymn sheet for the first time in many months. Spirits are higher than at any point since the 2017 election debacle.
Some parts of our United Kingdom clearly have concerns about our departure, so let me address these head on.
Under this deal, the whole of the United Kingdom will leave the EU and its structures at the same time. We will be outside the EU’S customs union and all four nations which make up our Union will reap the benefits of the free-trade agreements we will strike with the high-growth economies outside the EU.
Our Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox, has been unequivocal: in no way does this deal infringe on the Good Friday Agreement. David Trimble, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the agreement, agrees. I trust them, and so should my colleagues.
The public are sick and tired of the procedural trickery, squabbling and disingenuity from a Parliament that voted overwhelmingly to trigger the Article 50 process but has also sought to delay and block Brexit. The public
‘We take back control of laws, trade, borders and money. We can make our country even greater’
want Brexit done and so do I. We have an exciting domestic agenda focusing on people’s priorities: investing in schools and the NHS, bringing down the cost of living and tackling violent crime. But we can only get on with delivering this if we get Brexit done.
Let’s contrast what we are offering with the alternatives. Some MPS want a second referendum but can’t agree what it should ask and don’t think the result should be implemented if the people give them the answer they don’t want again. Appallingly, the “Liberal Democrats” want to disregard the votes of the 17.4million altogether. I struggle to recall a more shameful policy position from a party represented in Parliament. Others just don’t want to make a decision at all.
Almost all of these MPS told their constituents they were going to respect the result of the referendum. If they want to be true to their constituents, today is their chance to do so.