A group of so-called ‘Brexit Spartans’ who previously opposed Theresa May’s Brexit deal have announced they will support Boris Johnson’s, remarking that the new European treaty “preserves the UK’s sovereignty as a matter of law”.
The announcement and accompanying briefing document created for Brexiteer Conservative members of Parliament known as the European Research Group (ERG) comes days after the 1,246-page agreement was finalised by Boris Johnson’s negotiators in Brussels, and a day before it is due to be voted on in Westminster.
Although the deal would almost certainly pass even without the support of the Brexit hardliners in the party — Johnson enjoys both a significant parlimentary majority and the support of the opposition Labour party for the vote — the ERG’s backing is important for Tory unity on Europe and general narrative-setting in the post-negotiations era. Veteran Brexiteer Nigel Farage has said while the deal left much to be desired, it is good enough to draw a line under Brexit negotiations for the good of the country, and clearly, the ERG group of ‘Spartans’ agreeing to back the deal is part of that.
Sky New’s reportage on the ERG’s paper particularly underlines their claim that, after a review by top Brexit-supporting lawyers in the group, the agreement “”preserves the UK’s sovereignty as a matter of law”.
The review was undertaken by a so-called ‘star chamber’ of legal experts who last convened to scrutinise Theresa May’s Brexit deal in March 2019. At that time, they reccomended pro-Brexit MPs in Parliament vote against the government — backing the Johnson deal now is a boost to the Prime Minister after a difficult year.
The full ERG briefing document revealed sections on whether the deal allowed “practical sovereignty” for the United Kingdom, and questioning the issue of level playing field rules — an EU negotiating point intended to hold the UK closer to Brussels in perpetuity. Concluding its qualified support for the deal, the ERG noted that “if those [conditions] were unacceptable”, at least, “the Agreement could be terminated on 12 months’ notice.”
Prominent ERG member and veteran Brexiteer John Redwood was quick to comment on the content of the briefing paper, and the deal more broadly on Tuesday evening as he spoke on a live webcast with former Brexit Party MEP Martin Daubney.
Welcoming Johnson’s deal, Redwood told Daubney: “We had confirmation from the lawyers today, as I expected, that the main points had been won — that we will be an independent country, that the European Court of Justice won’t boss us around any more, and if the trade arrangements didn’t work out in a satisfactory way — if there wasn’t good will — we could simply withdraw.”
Redwood expanded on some of the ideas raised in the ERG paper, particularly the idea of sovereignty de jure and de facto. He said:
We’re taking legal sovereignty back, but we want practical, effective sovereignty. We want to demonstrate we can use those powers to change laws, to improve grant regimes, improve backing for British business, improve our trading arrangements around the world.
…I have been saying for some time I don’t just want legal sovereignty, I want effective sovereignty. It’s not some abstraction or academic thing — why do I want parliament and government to have these powers? Because I think they can do a better job for British fishing, for British citizens, for British employees. I think we suffered a lot under the Single Market and Customs Union and Common Fisheries Policy. We can do better, but we do need… a strong government that understands it can use these powers even though some times the EU doesn’t enjoy it.
The Tory Brexiteer expressed his disappointment with the fishing settlement, noting it was “the one area we don’t take back control for another five and a half years”, but nevertheless noted the government had promised movement and the ability to use new powers in the national interest. He responded: “My challenge to them is, live up to the words, now.
“You tell me you’re going to have the powers from the first of January, so let’s see the proposals. Me and many of my colleagues would be very happy to vote those through, because we do think we want to husband our fish stocks and marine environement and get ready for a much bigger, sensibly managed UK fleet taking more fish and landing more fish in the UK. So we can have both a better marine environent and a much bigger UK industry.”
Concluding, Redwood said: “We have power for a purpose. And what is the purpose? The prosperity of the British people.”
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