Forget the moaners – most of us support Mrs May’s approach
Two sets of people were going to criticise Theresa May regardless of what she said in Florence. First, irreconcilable Remainers, for whom nothing short of continued membership will do, and who respond even to the cheeriest news with bitter sarcasm. Secondly, splenetic Leavers, whose dislike of the EU is a manifestation of their dislike of the world in general, and who, after years of railing against betrayal, don’t know how to handle victory.
Both groups took to the airwaves almost before the Prime Minister had sat down, sounding curiously alike in their rage and mockery. Most voters are not in either category. The majority of Leavers and Remainers want a smooth and cordial Brexit – a way to recover our independence while retaining friendly links with the EU27, whose prosperity will continue to matter to us after we leave.
Those of us in this category have every reason to be satisfied with Mrs May’s remarks. She made clear that we will become fully sovereign. British laws will once again be supreme on our own soil. We will determine for ourselves which non-EU countries to trade with and on what terms. We will decide our own farming, fishing, defence, regional affairs, employment law, industrial policy.
We will, quite rightly, leave the European Economic Area (EEA), designed in 1992 as a transitional arrangement for countries that were expected to join the EU imminently. No one thought back then that Norway would vote against EU membership, but still be in the EEA 25 years later.
This is, incidentally, a tougher position than Nigel Farage took during the referendum. Shortly before polling day, he stood next to me on a stage at the London Palladium and extolled Norway as an example of a rich, free and successful non-EU state. His campaign, unlike the official Vote Leave organisation, formally backed EEA membership, at least in the short term. Yet now, predictably, Nigel denounces the PM for having gone soft.
There is nothing soft about wanting close relations with our neighbours. Having recovered our self-government, we should aim, as Mrs May says, to be the EU’s best friend and strongest ally. This will mean a closer association than one based simply on trade in the manner of, say, South Korea. We shall continue to participate in some EU programmes – and pay our share – but we shall do so as an independent country, not an EU province.
During the campaign, we Leavers made much of the EU’s control of our domestic laws. After 45 years, it will take time to replace that control with bilateral arrangements. Both sides recognise the need for an interim arrangement – and it is hard to argue against paying our subs while we are still using the facilities. Frankly, the timescale is almost irrelevant next to the goal of securing a mutually advantageous withdrawal.
That goal is in sight. Britain will lose its representation in Brussels, but recover control of its internal affairs. Our relationship with the EU27 will be based on alliance, not assimilation, co-operation not coercion, sovereignty not subordination. Ten years from now, the only question we’ll ask is, what took us so long.