I have wavered
over the last few weeks deciding to back the Deal to get us over the line and
to leave the EU this year, partly due to public sentiment. I then thought the
general public will take a very dismal view if in 5 years’ time we are stuck
inside the Northern Ireland Protocol without any meaningful way out or a way a
sovereign, British Parliament could extricate us out.
The deal is
terrible. Let’s not make any bones about it. Article 6 states that we will
still be bound by EU law only, including procurement, data, EU’s ETF and many
more including VAT and importantly the ‘arbitration mechanism’ that Mrs. May
achieved. The European Court of Justice is still our highest court by degree,
and disputes will be adjudicated as such, and full jurisdiction will continue
for at least 10 more years. We are tied to EU foreign policy. There is a ‘Joint
Committee’, which is fancy wording for unelected civil servants and bureaucrats
making laws, without accountability. These alone are enough to make it a bad deal,
and this is not including the Northern Ireland Protocol.
I cannot in
good faith support this Withdrawal Agreement, and I therefore urge MPs to stand
firm and vote down this Agreement. The legal default is still we leave in 12
days’ time, and do not bet on the EU automatically accepting a short delay,
with no concessions from us. Many Brexiteers have decided to back this deal
because they believe the alternative is worse, e.g. EEA+CU membership. But we
can get out of that easily, and with a Brexiteer PM in future, we could leave
it as a sovereign Parliament. This is not the end game for Brexit. However, I
cannot support an Agreement that undermines democracy, sovereignty, and the
mandate from the British electorate. We must stand firm in the face of it.
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