A new year demands a new direction

Alot happened in 2018, but little was resolved: as 2019 dawns, time is running out when it comes to Brexit. Theresa May originally intended the House of Commons to vote on her EU Withdrawal Agreement in December. After reading the mood of MPs, she delayed their verdict and went back to the Eurocrats for concessions. They did not budge an inch. Now the Commons is scheduled to vote in the week of January 14 and nothing has changed; the backstop, the most malignant part of the agreement, is still in place. So why would MPs vote for something they rejected in 2018 that will be exactly the same in 2019?

This Government, far from being proactive or visionary, has often relied on others to panic and fold. It has encouraged the idea that a no-deal Brexit would be the end of the world (it certainly would be traumatic and every avenue should be explored to avoid it) and hopes that the threat of Britain running out of time and falling off the cliff edge will force either the Commons or Brussels to blink. In fact, preparations to mitigate the no-deal impact are under way, just without any fanfare.

An article published in yesterday’s Telegraph by an anonymous civil servant revealed that there are “hundreds” of plans “waiting for the green light from ministers to be made public”, as well as “bilateral ‘managed WTO’ agreements on the horizon”. It’s time the Government rolled out a well-publicised Project Ready, not only to coordinate this operation but to bolster public confidence.

Instead, it falls back upon Project Fear, obviously to nudge MPs into backing the Withdrawal Agreement. As the anonymous civil servant argued, it also suits Remainers to alarm the British public about the risks of leaving the EU, rather than having to dream up a positive case for staying in.

And yet everything we have learnt about Brussels since voting to leave has validated the referendum result. The staggering scale of EU regulations, the role of its courts, its control of our trade – Britain has only now truly realised how much our establishment outsourced the governance of the country to European elites. Brexit has turned into a test of whether or not Britain can actually run itself, and no wonder some are nervous about our chances. The mysterious drone sightings at Gatwick airport, or migrants illegally crossing the Channel, suggest that Britain’s public servants have lost control. After Brexit there will be no room for excuses. It will be down to the British government to manage borders efficiently and invest properly in infrastructure.

The Government needs a stronger sense of direction. It is wrong to see Brexit in isolation from all other policy. Here is an opportunity to revive democratic structures, strike out on a bold new foreign policy that puts trade first and, crucially, reshape the economy, which is strong but could do better. Britain enters 2019 with problems that can be fixed with a commitment to lower taxes and scaling back the public sector. The point of Brexit is to empower both the nation state and the individual, to make us freer and richer, and the Tories must prepare a Budget that powers the country through by accelerating business growth and putting more money in the voter’s pocket.

There is a lot to remember 2018 for: Theresa May dancing at conference, Donald Trump’s visit to London, the dramatic United States/North Korea summit in Singapore, riots in France and the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. What will stand out for many, however, was England’s sterling performance in the World Cup: a reminder of what can be achieved with a little discipline, ambition and some of that creative genius synonymous with these islands. We wish our readers a happy and prosperous new year.

This Government, far from being proactive or visionary, has often relied on others to panic and fold