Global Vision, May 17, Matthew Patten
One of the unfortunate side-effects of Covid-19 has been to give opponents of Brexit new hope that it might somehow be delayed or even denied. Always the noisy lot, a vociferous alliance of Brexit opponents is trying to take advantage of the health crisis to see the Transition Period extended beyond the end of this year.
But a major new report, ‘Brexit Delayed is Brexit Denied’, published today by cross-party think tank, the Centre for Brexit Policy, argues that ending the Transition Period on time will greatly aid the UK’s economic recovery, while extending it for 2 years could cost up to £380 billion.
The report is supported by a national poll which shows that public opinion backs exiting the Transition Period as scheduled on 31 December 2020. The British public oppose any extension by 44 per cent to 40 per cent. Among Conservative voters, 61 per cent want to leave at the end of this year or even earlier. Asked if the UK would be better off in the long run outside the EU, 45 per cent agreed, with 28 per cent disagreeing, a margin of 17 points for those believing the country has done the right thing to leave. And by almost 2-to-1, people agree that the government should be capable of managing both the Covid-19 pandemic and the Transition Period at the same time.
For the last five years and in five national polls, the British people have voted to leave the European Union. As one of the last British MEPs, I took part in the historic vote in the European Parliament that ratified Brexit, before joining the many thousands who celebrated the UK’s formal departure 2 days later in Parliament Square. We are now nearly four months through the Transition Period which ends on 31 December this year, an end date enshrined by Parliament in law.
Click here to read the piece in full.
Click here to read the report.