The Brexit Deal and the British Appeal

Dec 06, 2018 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

The decision deadline approaches, it is not only what has been said but clearly what lies ahead.
In a June 2016 referendum the Brits, seemingly exposed their grits and made a hit, voting to leave the European Union by 52% to 48%. Come March 29, 2019 at 11.00 p.m Greenwich Mean Time, the United Kingdom will officially exit the European Union—an economic and political alliance of 28 countries. Such a move will bring 46 years of membership to an end.
Exit Brexit-Enter Theresa May who took over on July 13, 2016 from David Cameron without an election either of the Conservative Party membership or the country at large, as per British protocol.
When she became Prime Minister, Brexit negotiations were high on her list of priorities, and she made every effort to reassure those who had voted to leave that Brexit meant Brexit and that together they would make a success of it. During her tenure in the Home Office, media reports often referred to May as “steely”, “single-minded”, and even “ruthless”.
Could the once ruthless be slowly transforming into the truthless.
During the Brexit campaign Theresa May was a “Remain” supporter, and now here she is trying to remove that stain and convince the same people to get out of the E.U. Granted she was not one of the most outspoken during the campaign, often quiet, nevertheless she stuck to the government line, that in general Britain would be better off remaining part of the European Union.
Recent leaks from Downing Street reveal a further deceptive political sleight of hand on her part. At a cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister intends to run her own private policy through officials in the Cabinet Office and No. 10 Downing Street, requesting that they choose an unknown third way, instead of the two prior options for leaving the European Union. Such a policy is in clear divergence, and arguably different from the Brexit policy that had the approval of both the Cabinet and the British public.
Scotland, one of the UK’s four nations, voted to keep its EU membership by 62-38 percent. But Britain’s overall vote to leave takes Scotland with it, and polls show that Scots are increasingly opposed to the idea. Leaving the E.U would be disastrous for the union with Scotland, as the Scottish National Party would most probably try again for independence, if Scotland voted to remain while the United Kingdom as a whole voted to leave.
Such a statement may have some truth to it, for Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland’s devolved Parliament, made it absolutely clear that she wants to examine the options available to Scotland. She further added that she is not in agreement that Scotland must leave the EU with the rest of the UK, and asserted that “all options must be on the table.
With every passing day closer to the deadline, May’s deal gets pale and seems almost certain to fail, when it comes to the vote in Parliament. How do Brits feel about May’s deal? What does Britain stand to lose?
Police and security agencies, have been warning for more than two years of the risks Brexit poses to UK security. The British Security Minister Ben Wallacet claims that a no-deal scenario would expose the public to a greater risk from terrorism and cross-border crime. The government says it wants to work together to identify the terms for the UK’s cooperation with Europol and Eurojust – two agencies that deal with law enforcement and judicial cooperation between member states.
Exiting the European Union without an agreement would have a real impact on protecting the public. A great deal of uncertainty still surrounds post-Brexit security arrangements, as there is no guarantee that data sharing arrangements and other cross-border crime fighting tools would remain in place.
Real experience of the last few decades has taught Britain that close cooperation is at the heart of effective security, and both Europe and Britain can bitterly avow that instances of things being overlooked or a mistake being made, have been repeatedly attributable to a failure of cooperation. A no-deal scenario would have a truly profound impact on Britain’s ability to work together with her European partners in protecting the public. No longer would UK agencies be plugged into systems for exchanging data including criminal records, alerts on wanted suspects, DNA, fingerprints and airline passenger information. Extradition requests would take longer, while cooperation on counter-terrorism, cyber security and illegal migration would be affected. Access to EU databases used by police to track terrorists and criminals would also be lost. .
The British Security Minister opines that the Brexit deal secured by May “hits a harmonious counterbalance to keep everyone safe”, promoting the agreement as the foundation for the most comprehensive security relationship the EU has ever had with any country.
Should the deal fall dead, for Britain what lies ahead?
The Prime Minister can bring it back to the Members of Parliament, and perhaps after minor tweaks and a clearer view they can then perhaps vote it through. She can also immediately resign, leaving the country a more appealing leader to find.
Should Jacob Rees-Mogg get his way, and a no-confidence vote comes into play, then a new leader can a majority assemble behind a tweaked deal. On the other hand, Prime Minister May can a general election call, hoping that over the heads of squabbling MPs, voters would back her deal and not let it fall. A second referendum may garner support; this is most likely if the Labour Party decides to go along.
The EU Withdrawal Act has identified Friday March 29, 2019 as Brexit Day, when Great Britain would be free to go her own way. Would the 585-page withdrawal agreement be viewed as being heaven sent, or is Britain on a path to destruction bent?
The Eurosceptics in the room have already portended doom. From now until the fated day, Theresa May’s government and all warring factions should carefully consider a course of action which would positively benefit Britain in the years ahead, even after the deal is sealed.
There may be no Fix-it for Brexit. This may well be it.

Y. Sam

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