Email
June 11
In my opinion, Boris should not be known as the man who delivered Brexit. No, he should be more known as the man who botched Brexit.
As a superb, charismatic, energetic and positive electioneering politician, Boris was THE key factor in obtaining a majority of votes in favour of leaving the European Union. All other politicians, including Nigel Farage, could not have done it without him.
However, the Brexit Treaty that Boris then signed up to was a sell out. We lost the good parts of being in the European Union, but didn’t gain the advantages of being a free sovereign nation trading with the EU in much the same way as most of the countries of the world, but with a mutually beneficial agreement for future EU/UK relations. There was no ‘oven ready’ agreement.
Boris signed a Treaty that meant we were half in half out, that we would gift €39 billion to the European Commission who run the EU to spend subsidising EU countries, that separately we would continue to contribute for many years to various individual EU projects, that Northern Ireland would cease to be a full part of the UK, that EU fishermen would continue to hoover up fish in British waters, that ‘Third Country’ tariffs would be applied IN FULL for UK import/export of any goods to EU countries, that third country rules would apply in full to non-resident Brits using their holiday homes in European Union countries ie. the 90 days per visit/180 days per year rules etc. etc.
Boris got absolutely nothing in return for the nett €240 billion the UK paid into the EU over our 40 years of membership to help other EU countries, he got nothing in return for the gift of €39 billion for future EU expenditure, he got nothing for the billions of our continued funding of many individual EU projects, he got nothing in return for allowing EU fishermen to continue fishing on an industrial scale in UK waters etc. etc. etc.
In the end, the underlying problem was twofold: Firstly, the whole of the UK Establishment was against Brexit and treacherously and undemocratically tried to prevent and undermine it at all costs.
Secondly, the Boris government at its highest level regarded itself as negotiating a ‘deal’ to get out of the EU which could be easily renegotiated or amended later. In fact it was always going to be a fixed, legally binding ‘International Treaty’ which would determine UK/EU relations for years to come. This dichotomy is essentially why instead of being able to leave the Brexit issue in the past, we still have problems with it three years on.
So when you see the continuing issues of Northern Ireland, when you have to pay an import/export tax to send or receive a Christmas present from the UK, when you have to pay an import tax for buying something on the internet, when you can only use your holiday home in Spain under the 90-day/180 day rules, don’t blame the European Union.
The European Union negotiated their side of the Brexit Treaty honestly but ruthlessly in the interests of their ‘Protected Zone’.
It was Boris who signed up to all the above and, thereby, in my opinion sold out Brexit and fully deserves responsibility for the ongoing Brexit problems. I wish Boris well for the future, but in a career outside of politics.
Brian
(Anna, Valencia)
