Nigel Farage believes the post-Brexit trade deal is a necessary settlement. Photo / AP
Nigel Farage believes the post-Brexit trade deal is a necessary settlement. Photo / AP
OPINION:
In my quest to free Britain from the EU over the last 30 years, I've been called many names.
For daring to challenge the status quo, my life has also been made very difficult. I never wavered or compromised, however, even refusing the offer of a safe Conservative seat.
There comes a point in an endless war, though, when a settlement must be reached. I believe that the moment for political pragmatism is now. We have taken our cause as far as we can.
I would have preferred a no-deal Brexit - a clean break. Whatever short-term disruption this brought, it would have been the best path to prosperity. Yet despite tough talk from No 10 recently, this was never going to happen. No deal was just a negotiating position.
Had Boris Johnson gone for no deal, he would have reopened the EU fault line in his own party and the business establishment would have cried foul. The Brexit wars would have dragged on.
So what of the 1246 pages which MPs will debate this week? Many "experts" have discussed this deal without knowing exactly what they are talking about. Frankly, it will be many weeks before we fully understand its implications and MPs should not be bounced into backing it in its entirety this week. A vote on the principle of it makes more sense at this stage.
Boris Johnson has arrived at a politically pragmatic deal. Photo / AP
One area of the document that my friends have truly analysed relates to fishing. This element of the deal is even worse than I had feared.
Michel Barnier claimed that Britain will become an independent coastal state, but the truth is our nation still won't own the fish that swim in its waters. The current terms of the UK common fisheries policy will continue and just 25 per cent of EU boats' fishing rights in UK waters will be transferred to Britain's fishing fleet up to 2026. It was expected that the EU's rights would be cut by 80 per cent.
Nobody should underestimate the sense of betrayal in our coastal communities this has inspired. Even if after 2026 Britain wants to increase further its own quota allocation, it will have to pay compensation to the EU to do so. This is an outrageous humiliation. Britain's coastal communities deserve recompense for what has been done to them.
Northern Ireland's future status within the UK is a further compromise. At the same time, importers and exporters will have breathed a sigh of relief, especially German car makers and French wine producers.
The UK's biggest problem seems to be that its largest industry - financial services - is barely mentioned. With that said, the benefit of Brexit is that we will continue trading with EU countries while opening our markets up to the rest of the world. I'm certain that our pattern of trade will shift substantially and become more global.
UK politicians should be ready to put UK interests first. Photo / AP
Britain must beware the level playing field provisions but, in time, I think threats from Brussels will worry us less. Everybody must be positive about what we can achieve and becoming the first country in the world to approve the Covid vaccine while EU states argued among themselves rather proves the point.
No peace is perfect and Britain must be vigilant in the coming weeks and months. We must also be prepared when necessary to deviate from the terms of this deal. As an independent nation, the world will have more respect for us if we stick up for ourselves. Our politicians should not be ashamed to put our interests first.
Lord Frost and Mr Johnson have paid a heavy price to get this deal over the line, but they have done far better than their predecessors and they do deserve some credit. The most important point about this deal is that it will end the anti-Brexit hysteria.
There is no going back. The grass-roots campaign to win back Britain's independence has triumphed against the Westminster establishment. That, surely, is worth celebrating.
