What are the arguments for and against the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal?
For
Theresa May and her supporters say the withdrawal agreement, coupled with the political declaration on future UK/ EU relations, will:
Deliver on the result of the 2016 referendum by taking the UK out of the European Union;
End the right of free movement by EU citizens to live and work in the UK, allowing Britain to introduce a new skillsbased immigration system;
End the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK;
Stop the payment of “vast” sums into EU budgets; Take the UK out of the Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy;
Pave the way for the creation of a new UK/EU free trade area with no tariffs, fees, charges, quantitative restrictions or rules-of-origin checks;
Preserve close relations with the EU on security, crime and terrorism;
Protect the integrity of the UK by ensuring there is no customs barrier between Northern Ireland and Great Britain;
Honour the Good Friday Agreement by ensuring there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic;
End uncertainty and reassure business there will be no abrupt “cliffedge” transition to new trading arrangements by providing a 21-month transition period for them to prepare;
Allow the extension of the period by up to two years to allow a trade deal to be completed, without the need to trigger “backstop” arrangements to keep the Irish border open;
Allow the UK to negotiate trade deals with countries elsewhere in the world, to come into effect at the end of the transition period;
Protect the rights of UK citizens living in the EU and Europeans in Britain.