Put up and shut up

I was intrigued with Veronica Hardstaff's letter regarding the terms of Brexit and would like to comment on a few of her points.
EUEU
EU

Firstly, despite voting Brexit myself, I was under no illusion that a Tory government would be spending the £350 million a week we save on our NHS or the fact it was even the true sum. I was also under no illusion that we would continue to be slaves to the Single Market.

The reason I state this is most of the 51.9% who voted for Brexit would have done so for many reasons as indeed I did. One of those reasons would have undoubtedly been high uncontrolled immigration from the EU. Now it doesn’t take a politician to point out that according to the EU, in order to be a member of the Single Market, we would have to continue accepting unlimited immigration from the EU. Therefore as I see it, to control immigration as Theresa May told us will be implemented, something I might add is a policy that Mrs Hardstaff’s own party leader Jeremy Corbyn is not interested in (he still insists that we need more and more immigration to our already overcrowded island), we have no option but to have a different relationship with the Single Market as well as the EU itself. She also states that given the narrowness of the vote results, every decision should be scrutinized. Isn’t that funny, for if the vote had been the other way round, the very scrutinizing that she wants would not take place.

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If, God forbid we had voted to remain, then the Brexiters would have been told the put “up and shut up, we are in”. Plus there would have been little to scrutinize, as we would have just had the Brussels elite to make our minds up for us as they have done for the past four decades, whilst making our puppet government pander to their every whim, not taking into account what the normal everyday citizen thinks.

What I would like to know from Veronica is what could she suggest should happen in the Brexit negotiations. Given the recent Canada- EU trading discussions, we will probably be given nothing, but have to accept everything as often happens when the EU is involved. Like the Canadian trade minister herself said, “they are not capable of negotiating a free trade deal”. I couldn’t put it better myself. Because, if you think about it, the Single Market is anything but a free trade tool .

We pay in vast amounts for free trade, whilst having to be politically controlled by and often outnumbered by this organisation of 27 nations. I would suggest that remainers such as Veronica should watch a video on Youtube showing former Labour MP Peter Shore on his speech for “No” to our 1975 referendum on membership of the then, Common Market. He States, “Australia trades heavily with Japan, but do you think that this arrangement should be that it gives the right for Japan to make the laws in Australia, and Canada, a country of 22 million, and the USA a country of 300 million, do you think Canada would allow it’s laws been written by the many states in the USA.” Very interesting to watch, but my point been we will have to negotiate a deal with the EU, a deal that is not like a Norway deal, or Swiss deal, but one that works for both us and the EU.

If trade is to include heavy tariffs, then we must also inflict heavy tariffs on them. Remember as we buy more from the EU than we sell to them, stern tariffs will not only affect us but will also affect other EU nations, and I fear with many free trade agreements already on the cards for negotiation when we leave, perhaps it will be the EU that will suffer more. Why would a country give the EU a second thought when it can get Free Trade with us, probably with less red tape than the EU? I can just imagine the fear of Spanish farmers if their produce costs us so much more that we go else where, perhaps to a country we get a free trade deal with.

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The same can be said for German or French cars. If they slap heavy tariffs on us, then we do the same or go elsewhere to buy cheaper cars. Now I am not saying this will happen, and indeed the EU will probably not cut it’s nose off to spite it’s face but knowing the goings on in Brussels, nothing would surprise me. The ball is in their court but we can no longer be under the rule of Brussels anymore. That is what we voted for by 51.9%, a majority whether narrow or not is still a majority or to put it more coarsely, “Put up and shut up”.

Matthew Hobson

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