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Britain’s new parliament votes on Johnson’s Brexit deal
LONDON, Dec 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Britain’s freshly-elected parliament
prepared on Friday to move past years of partisan wrangling and initially
approve Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s divorce deal with the European Union.
The all-but-certain outcome in the House of Commons will help Johnson meet
his winning campaign promise to “get Brexit done” at any cost on January 31.
But it will also push London and Brussels closer to another cliff edge that
might disrupt decades of unfettered trade at the end of 2020.
Last week’s polls put Johnson’s Conservatives in control of parliament and
dispelled doubts over whether Britain was to become the first nation to leave
the EU.
A final vote on Johnson’s separation terms will come when lawmakers return
from their Christmas break early next month.
But Britain will enter the holiday season closer to legal and economic
independence than it has been at any point since the 2016 Brexit referendum.
And Johnson has the freedom and power to shape Britain’s future that his
predecessor Theresa May never had during her troubled three-year term.
“A new golden age for this United Kingdom is now within reach,” Johnson
told parliament at its inaugural session on Thursday.
Britain is “taking back control of our money, laws, borders and trade and
clearing the way for our overarching programme of national renewal,” he said.
– Another cliff edge –
Britain’s nervous financial market rejoiced when Johnson’s ruling Tories
secured an 80-seat majority in the 650-member House of Commons.
The healthy margin appeared to remove the possibility of more months of
political uncertainty and chaos — and of Britain crashing out of the bloc
without any arrangements for what comes next.
But the pound fell back to its pre-election levels when Johnson introduced
a series of small but potentially consequential changes into the official
Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
Britain’s formal departure on January 31 had been due to be followed by an
11-month transition period during which things would stay pretty much as they
are now.
The sides are supposed to use the time to negotiate a comprehensive new
agreement covering everything from trade to security and data protection.
EU officials warn that such deals usually take years to hammer out.
But Johnson ruled out the possibility of asking for a deadline extension in
the version of the bill before parliament on Friday.
“A Minister of the Crown may not agree… to an extension of the
implementation period,” the bill now says.
Analysts note that little prevents Johnson from pushing a new law through
parliament removing that firm deadline should negotiations veer dangerously
off track.
It also puts psychological pressure on European officials to back off some
of their stiffer demands on London and seek a limited deal that leaves some
big issues unresolved.
“The UK could get a (free trade agreement) done with the EU by end of
2020,” May’s former Brexit adviser Raoul Ruparel said.
“But it would be a narrow and shallow one.”
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday that the
bloc “will do the maximum” to meet the end-of-2020 deadline.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0948 hrs