by Robin Baker
1) Thanks and Congratulations to Dominic Raab from the European Movement
In publishing the Government’s so called Chequers
proposal, Dominic Raab has performed a great service to those of us who oppose
Brexit. We should thank him for that.
The document sets out in considerable details the
advantages that the UK gains from being a member of the EU, and then also
details the very difficult, indeed one could reasonably say irresolvable,
difficulties Britain will have in retaining these advantages should Brexit proceed.
In fact they are too numerous to include in the
body of this text. So I have put them in
an appendix at the end for those who, like myself, are masochistic enough to
enjoy the detail.
2)
What are Liam Fox and his International Trade Department up to?
The Times has
revealed that Dr. Liam Fox’s personal travel bill in the Department of
International Trade has amounted to £189,000 and that his department as a whole
has spent more than £1 million on a total of 376 international trips and
missions.
The Department’s
principal responsibility is to deliver a new trade policy framework for the UK as we leave the EU
although it does have the task of promoting British trade and investment across
the world and building the global appetite for British goods and services. One does wonder why, however, it was
necessary for them to 158 visits to other EU member countries.
Sir Vince Cable, a former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation
and Skills and now Leader of the Liberal-Democrats, is quoted as saying: “There
is nothing wrong with ministers travelling to secure trade deals but when this
government’s post-Brexit ambitions are so unrealistic they are just wasting
money on pointless exercises. Readers of
course will know that the UK cannot negotiate any trade agreements until we
have actually left the EU.
3) Will we really be able to control our post-EU borders? Minister confesses all.
The boast repeated frequently by
pro-Brexiteers and almost daily by Theresa May that leaving the EU will enable us
to control our borders, by which of course is meant immigration, has always
seemed to me to be so unconvincing as to be
dishonest. One just has to look at the
figures. In 2017 EU net migration was around
100,000, the lowest level recorded since 2013. However estimated non-EU
net migration was 227,000, the highest level recorded since 2011. It has
been almost consistently higher than EU migration for decades. Control of
non-EU migration is totally within the UK’s own national competence, however we
have consistently been unable not only to meet the targets set but even to
prevent such migration from increasing. It has been impossible for me to
believe that leaving the EU would enable immigration to be controlled, when
neither Prime Minister May nor any of her team have even attempted to tell us
what we would do post Brexit to control EU immigration that they are not doing
now to control non-EU immigration.
But now a minister, the Minister of State for
Immigration no less, has made the position clear. She has told the House of Commons Home
Affairs Select Committee that employers
will be expected to check whether EU nationals have the right to work in the UK
if there is a no-deal Brexit,
even though it will be almost impossible to assess this, and the nature of the
checks remains unknown.
Not
surprisingly employers’ groups have expressed serious concerns. In fact this approach is typical of the
government placing obligations on others for duties that they should assume
themselves. This time they are going to
require employers to go through adequately
rigorous checks to evidence EU27 citizens’ right to work. When asked how employers could be expected to
make the checks, Nokes said she did not know and would have to write to the
committee later. One can only hope that
the committee members are not holding the breath. Should, as the Government intend, there be a
transition period after Britain leaves the EU, Nokes admitted that it would be
incredibly difficult to differentiate between an EU citizen coming here for the
first time, for example, and somebody who has been here for a significant
period of time and hasn’t yet applied for their settled status but will be
perfectly entitled to it when they apply.
Yvette Cooper, the Committee Chairman, said “Either you’re going to have
a system that in practice is unworkable because employers can’t implement it,
or you’re going to have to accept that people who are arriving after March 2019
will just be covered by exactly the same rules as people who are already here.”
So we
cannot expect immigration from EU countries to be controlled post Brexit. But, after all, many of us never did.
Robin
Baker
Appendix: Quotations from the Government’s paper: THE FUTURE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
During
the UK’s membership of the EU, it has worked with all Member States to develop
a significant suite of tools that supports the UK’s and the EU’s combined
operational capabilities, and helps keep citizens safe. It is important that
the UK and the EU continue that cooperation, avoiding gaps in operational
capability after the UK’s withdrawal. The UK will no longer be part of the EU’s
common policies on foreign, defence, security, justice and home affairs.
Participation
by the UK in key agencies, including Europol and Eurojust – providing an
effective and efficient way to share expertise and information, with law
enforcement officers and legal experts working in close proximity so they can
coordinate operations and judicial proceedings quickly
The
protection of personal data, ensuring the future relationship facilitates the
continued free flow of data to support business activity and security
collaboration, and maximises certainty for business;
To
ensure that new declarations and border checks between the UK and the EU do not
need to be introduced for VAT and Excise purposes,
Trade in
agricultural products which contributed £27.8 billion in Gross Value Added
(GVA) in 2017.
The UK’s robust programme of
risk-based market surveillance to ensure that dangerous products do not reach
consumers.
The
UK is world leading in many services sectors, including legal, business and
financial services. In 2017, services made up 79 per cent of total UK GVA worth
£1.46 trillion. In 2017, 21 per cent of EU27 services imports came from the UK.
The
EU regime for the recognition of professional qualifications enables UK and EU
professionals to practise across both the UK and the EU on a temporary,
longer-term or permanent basis, without fully having to retrain or re-qualify.
Since 1997 the UK has recognised over 142,000 EU qualifications, including for
lawyers, social workers and engineers. Over 27,000 decisions to recognise UK
qualifications have been undertaken in the EU.
The
UK and EU economies rely on the cross-border provision of professional
services. This includes legal services, where the UK is the destination for
14.5% of total EU legal services exports. It also includes accounting and audit
services. In 2016, UK firms provided over 14 per cent of EU27 audit and
accountancy imports.
The
UK and EU financial services markets are highly interconnected: UK-located
banks underwrite around half of the debt and equity issued by EU businesses;
UK-located banks are counterparty to over half of the over-the-counter interest
rate derivatives traded by EU companies and banks; around £1.4 trillion of
assets are managed in the UK on behalf of European clients.
In
the year ending September 2017, UK residents made approximately 50 million
non-business related visits to the EU spending £24 billion,24 and EU residents
made over 20 million non-business related visits to the UK spending £7.8
billion.
The
audiovisual sector is both economically and culturally important to the UK and
the EU. The UK’s creative hub contributes significantly to the development of
products that are much in demand by European consumers. The UK is leaving the
Single Market. As a result, the “country of origin” principle, in which a
company based in one Member State can be licensed by a national regulator and
broadcast into any other Member State, will no longer apply.
The
UK has the largest aviation industry in Europe, and the UK’s geographical
position in the network is key, with around 80 per cent of all North Atlantic
traffic passing through UK or Irish controlled airspace. Air travel is vital in
connecting people and businesses and facilitating tourism and trade. In 2017,
164 million passengers travelled between the UK and other EU Member States by
air.
Criminals
and terrorists operate across borders. The threat they present has grown in
intensity, complexity and severity. Criminal networks are increasingly
resilient and adaptable, exploiting technology and becoming involved in almost
every type of crime. The EU and its Member States have created a range of
legal, practical and technical capabilities to combat these challenges at a
European level through close cooperation between countries. These capabilities
are mutually reinforcing. Together, they prevent criminals from using
international borders to avoid detection and justice, safeguard against threats
to public security and protect citizens and victims of crime.
The
swift extradition of wanted individuals to ensure they face prosecution or
serve prison sentences is a vital tool in delivering justice and helping to
keep communities safe. The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) has closed loopholes
and transformed extradition arrangements within the European Union. The EAW has
streamlined the extradition process within the EU and made it easier to ensure
wanted persons are brought to justice, or serve a prison sentence for an
existing conviction.
