Brexit Now, Not in Two Years
Hey Mrs. May! Hey, Prime Minister! What's going on? You say Brexit means Brexit! Thus far, so good. You set up a team of Euro-skeptics, like Boris Johnson and David Davies and Liam Fox. Well, that is great. But why the hesitation about declaring Article 50? Why the dilly-dallying? Why the rush up to Scotland to ask the permission from Nicola Sturgeon, where the total population of Scotland at 5.3 million is smaller than the popular vote for UKIP?
This hesitation makes me nervous. The Remain side will never be won over until they see some positive results. Amazingly, there are already some excellent results as countries like Australia and New Zealand queue up to make trade deals with the U.K., just as was forecast. The FTSE is riding high, and the pound has fallen against the dollar but is recovering, while the pound against the Euro is almost unchanged. The doomsayers have been proven wrong.
However, Boris Johnson, the new foreign secretary, is accused of lying. Nicola Sturgeon called it "a whopper," referring to the claim that we pay some £350 million a week gross to the EU, while we all know that we get some of it back.
Neither the Leave party nor the Remainers will be satisfied until such time as we cease to make this so-called contribution. Not only will this silence the doubters, not only will some of this money be used to help the National Heath Service, but also it will give an almighty jolt to the EU. While we are still paying, the EU is apparently strong. As soon as we stop, the EU will begin to fall apart, and our negotiating position will be stronger.
So there is no need for hesitation on this matter, which will be to the good of all concerned within the British Isles. Negotiating trade deals can follow from this, and we already know from German car manufacturers that we negotiate from a position of strength.
Once we stop paying, we are effectively no longer a member of the EU. Will they punish us with high tariffs? Not a chance – they have too much to lose.
If Nicola Sturgeon insists on another vote for independence from England, call her bluff. Point out that she would lose all her seats at Westminster, whether in the Commons or the Lords. But if she wants to keep to the pound sterling, that's OK, since it means she remains within the United Kingdom. The truth is that dear Nicola does not really know what she wants, as Scotland is unimaginable without the support of England, and she knows it well.
How big is the size of the UKIP vote? Of the 17.5 million who voted to leave the EU how many were UKIP? It is impossible to say. Nevertheless, if we are to judge by the popular vote in both the European Elections and the more recent General Election, then UKIP is by far the largest party in the U.K. with the least representation in Parliament – whereas the Scottish Nationalists, who already have their own parliament north of the border, have a disproportionate representation at Westminster. How the Scots wish to be independent of England yet at the same time wish to be subject to Brussels is beyond me.
This morning, as I look at the news ,the FTSE is up again, and the pound is rising against the US dollar and the Euro.
I have two friends on the Remain side with whom I argued the case for Brexit, and I challenged them both to give me three good reasons to remain. The first of my friends, who is exceedingly spiritual, did not answer the challenge at all. For him the idea of European unity overtook everything. It is no coincidence that he is also a Green, a supporter of global warming and solar panels – which are quite effective, I understand, in Western Australia, where he presently resides. I read, however, that one solar manufacturer after another is going out of business, as governments cease to support them by subsidies – without which they cannot exist.
My second friend, also a global warmer, who has yet to tell me precisely what is warming, when it is evident that by itself everything is cooling, did give me three reasons. They were "the economy, the economy, and the economy." Since in the past he has accused me of being in bed with Big Business – quelle horreur! – it is somewhat entertaining to be able to throw that jibe back in his face when he is a real lefty.
It must gradually be dawning on these Remainers that the sky has not fallen in, that we have not sailed away into the Atlantic, that we still wish to cooperate with our European friends, but on no account to we wish to be dominated by them – least of all by Frau Merkel and Herr Juncker. Furthermore, as the economy goes global, we are ready for lift-off! Must I repeat that three times?
That is why I look to Prime Minister Theresa May to make clear our intention never again to be subject to a foreign power, such as the EU. I look for a clarification of Brexit to be declared – namely, that only laws made at Westminster apply in the United Kingdom, and that the Houses of Parliament with the Royal Assent govern both the land and the seas around our Kingdom.
Once we cease to pay Danegeld to the EU – that is to say the £19 billion that we "contribute" to EU coffers – then we cease immediately to belong. Who wants to wait 'til 2019, let alone 2018 or 2017, when now is the operative word?
It may take years to sort out trade deals with the EU – fair enough. But let us be clear that sorting matters of trade is one thing, but Brexit is another. Unless Brexit is Brexit, and Brexit is immediate, we will not enjoy the benefits, but get bogged down in endless negotiations.
I look to our new prime minister, Theresa May, to make a Declaration of Intent and to cut the Gordian knot with one swift blow.