As a letter in the Chronicle pointed out (December 24), a majority of those who voted in Sevenoaks in 2016 were in favour of Brexit. But no one is likely to be happy with the government’s last-minute deal with the European Union, whether they were Leave or Remain.
The new agreement keeps us half-in and half-out of the EU. Although the UK has left its political structures, our economy still has to follow its lead, with tariffs being imposed on us if we step out of line. Disappointed fishermen will have to share their waters with foreign boats for years to come.
We were promised frictionless trade after Brexit, but there will be lots of red tape for businesses, and a border down the Irish Sea that didn’t exist before. Important services such as banking face an uncertain future after being left out of the negotiations.
The Prime Minister’s deal also compromises national security, because the police and other agencies will no longer have access to vital European data. And our freedom to live and work anywhere in the EU has gone.
All of this might have mattered less if we still had a vote or a veto when rules were decided in Brussels. But now we don’t. In 2021 Britain will have the worst of both worlds.