February 14th 2020
Dear Friends and Supporters
We are now technically out of the European Union, however, in practice nothing much has changed and with the Transition Period now in effect, the huge slog of the negotiations are once again set to begin.
On Monday February 3rd the Prime Minister wasted no time in setting out his stall for future negotiations. In a speech in Greenwich, Boris Johnson made clear he was seeking a Canada-style free trade deal with the EU. This type of deal would end all forms of political alignment with the EU, as well as cutting links to the European Court of Justice and any EU Army. If Boris is able to pull off such a feat then it would be impressive.
According to some, this kind of trade deal could bring about increased levels of checks and frictions at the border between the UK and the EU. However, the level of any friction and its consequences, have been roundly exaggerated according to trade expert Shanker Singham, especially if the UK pursues an ambitious global trade policy with countries from all over the world.
However, barriers are already being put in place and the EU is doubling down on their ‘Level Playing Field’ demands, as well as a recent and unacceptable plan to enable the EU to actually cancel future deals agreed between the UK and the EU, if the EU - and the EU alone - doesn’t like the behaviour of the UK in negotiations. In other words, now they have lost the Irish Backstop blackmail, they plan to try and invent another way to keep the UK under their thumb.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has used these weeks of limbo before trade talks officially kick off with the EU in March, to implement a Cabinet reshuffle. This was something which was meant to go smoothly, but after Sajid Javid - the Chancellor of the Exchequer - refused Boris’s proposal to get rid of all of his advisors – and work with those appointed by Number 10, the two men decided after much deliberation it would be best for Mr Javid to resign his post. While the media have tried to paint this as a decision made by Dominic Cummings (Boris Johnson’s senior advisor) the reality is advisors can only advise. The Prime Minister is the one who makes the decisions! Mr Cummings relationship and influence is nothing new. It is incredibly similar to the position enjoyed by Alistair Campbell under Tony Blair. Although Boris and Cummings are a far more preferable pair in Get Britain Out’s books!
While this reshuffle sounds turbulent, it may have a major silver lining. Javid has been replaced by the staunch Brexiteer, Rishi Sunak. At only 39 Sunak, who has only been an MP since 2015, is one of the youngest people to ever hold the position of Chancellor. Apparently Johnson and Sunak have agreed to change the structure of the Treasury bureaucracy, placing it jointly under the control of Number 10. This move should mean interference from Remainers in the Treasury - as has been commonplace for the last 5 years - will be far more restricted. This new joint force is being described as the ‘Downing Street Economic Team’. The key to this streamlining of advisors is for healthy debate and disagreement to be had in private – rather than the leaks which have emerged recently - but once a decision is made everyone works towards one joint goal.
Elsewhere in the reshuffle, Brexiteers were largely promoted across the board or remain in their original position, with some Remainers being rewarded for loyalty towards Johnson and his plans for the future. On the whole many senior Ministers remained in post, with Dominic Raab, Priti Patel and Jacob Rees-Mogg all holding onto their roles. Michael Gove has received an enhanced role within the Cabinet Office where he will be responsible for ‘No-Deal’ planning over the course of the next year. Clearly it is vital this is still kept on the table in view of the EU’s seeming intransigence.
Interestingly, with Javid now out of the Treasury, all 4 ‘Great Offices of State’ (Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary) are all held by Brexiteers. Certainly a refreshing change to the endless Remainer dominance of the last 2 decades.
The full list of Cabinet attendees is HERE.
Outside Westminster and over on the Continent, French President Emmanuel Macron’s desperate attempts to appear strong by attacking British attempts to ‘take back control of our waters’, have failed to make an impact in France. His Party is on the brink of huge local election defeats and Macron himself is deeply unpopular, with large-scale strikes and demonstrations still ongoing.
Germany is no better, with Angela Merkel’s appointed successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK) resigning from her position in Government, leaving Germany’s governing Christian Democrat Party (CDU) leaderless. The resignation came after recent local elections resulted in far-left and right marginal parties dominating the polls, forcing the CDU into third place. The results came as no shock, with Germany’s economy continuing to slow down and huge unrest in the country over immigration policies and the country’s relationship with the EU. One thing is certain, Merkel and the CDU cannot hope to have any form of electoral success if they fail to help get a free trade deal agreed between the UK and the EU. The German economy may just depend on it.
In the United States of America, reports have emerged which suggest President Donald Trump was “apoplectic” with Boris Johnson over his decision to allow Huawei to play a role in building the UK’s 5G network. This decision from the Prime Minister came days before the USA charged 4 Chinese military officers with spying and hacking the data of millions of Americans (and many in the UK) via the credit agency Equifax. Surely if China is willing to blatantly hack an equally developed country such as the USA, how can we, in the UK, possibly trust Huawei - and China - to be involved in the future of our technology? This could potentially compromise our national security to the extent the USA is rumoured to be reconsidering pursuing a comprehensive trade deal with the UK.
Is this risk really worth it Boris? We say NO!
ACTION POINT:
As you may have seen on our social media last week, we drafted a letter for YOU, our supporters, to post to the Prime Minister asking him to reconsider his decision to nominate the arch Remainer and former Chancellor, Phillip Hammond for a peerage in the House of Lords. Hammond, disgracefully, did everything possible to try and stop Brexit. PLEASE NOTE: Unlike some have suggested, Philip Hammond was NOT proposed for a peerage by Theresa May. This was Boris Johnson’s decision. Theresa May’s leaving Honours List was implemented last Summer and is the reason Olly Robbins, the arch-Remainer who negotiated her rubbish Withdrawal Agreement with the EU and was given a Knighthood as his reward for frustrating Brexit.
The letter can be found HERE. All you need to do is print out the letter, sign your name and add your address or postcode, then put it in an envelope, stamp and post it to the PM to the address at the top of the letter.
If you want to send your own letter, please feel free to use ours as a template to build yours around.
WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO:
- In addition to your letter to the Prime Minister about Phillip Hammond’s proposed peerage, our Director, Jayne Adye also wrote to the PM. We have also written individually to all the members of the House of Lords Appointments Committee, asking them to reject Mr Hammond’s potential peerage. You can read one of the letters we sent HERE.
- Jayne has also written for The Commentator questioning if MPs are ready to wield the powers Brexit has given them?
- Joshua Mackenzie–Lawrie, Get Britain Out’s Senior Research Executive, has written for our website explaining how UK Farming is Already on the Path to Success After Brexit.
- We have also constructed a simplified Brexit timeline which walks you through the entire Brexit process to date – perfect for people new to Brexit. This can be read HERE.
IMPORTANT STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
- Points system to reduce low-skilled immigration to the UK by 90,000 – The Daily Mail
- EU launches first legal case against UK just 12 DAYS after Brexit as tax row erupts – The Daily Express
- Leave-supporting firefighter sacked from post on union's national executive after speaking at pro-Brexit rally – The Daily Mail
- What does ‘friction’ in trade really mean for the UK? - Shanker Singham for CapX
- People we elect must take back control from people we don’t. Who include the judges. - ConservativeHome
- UK Economy beats gloomy forecasts to be third-fastest growing in G7 – The Times
- 2019 was record-breaking year for UK exports – Government Briefing
- The New Chair of the Bank of England puts his support behind Brexit – The Daily Mail
- Reforming the undemocratic House of Lords is the next step in the Brexit project – The Daily Telegraph
- Post-Brexit policy for the United Kingdom must be ambitious – Conservatives Global
- Is Boris defaulting on Brexit? – The Conservative Woman
That’s all for now.
Best wishes from Jayne Adye, Campaign Director and the Team at Get Britain Out
P.S. Please don’t forget, we really need your help with donations to make sure we secure the best Brexit for the United Kingdom in the ongoing trade negotiations with the European Union and the rest of the world.
Hopefully we will secure the best free trade deal with the EU (unless they want to cut off their noses to spite their faces) – or a ‘NO DEAL’ on World Trade Organisation terms if they mess us around. Unfortunately we cannot do this without money to pay for our office and the salaries of my very few staff. All donations are gratefully appreciated. Every £ counts. Thank you to everyone who is able to help, although we realise it is not possible for everyone.
Donations can be made via bank transfer, bank standing order, cheque or PayPal – all the details are HERE.
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PLEASE NOTE: Cheques should be payable to The EU Referendum Campaign Limited and not Get Britain Out please. Unfortunately, we cannot accept credit card donations (unless via PayPal) - or foreign currency cheques. With such a small team, we are cannot personally thank all of those who donate to the campaign, but your contributions are very much appreciated. If you would like an acknowledgement, please provide your e-mail address.
P.P.S. IMPORTANT: We know you are already committed to Brexit, but please continue to circulate this e-Bulletin to even more people, many of whom also want to be more informed.
Please encourage all your family and friends to support Get Britain Out and circulate this e-Bulletin to all their friends as well as the fight is not over yet. We have much more to do before we get the free trade deal with EU and to help the UK’s future global success.
Anyone not already signed up for our free fortnightly e-Bulletins can do so HERE - WE HAVE NOT WON THE BATTLE YET and there are millions more people who might appreciate receiving this information!
You can also get daily information and comments plus press links via our social media – Facebook & Twitter. Also there are daily links to Brexit press articles on our website (once my staff are in the office Monday to Friday) via this link HERE.
A MASSIVE thank-you, as always, to everyone who helps us try and secure the Best Brexit for our nation. We will not stop our work until we are completely free of the constraints of the EU. With a small team, we are unable to answer queries at length, so if you do send us brief comments, they should be sent to [email protected], we can only reply briefly, but if it is urgent, please put URGENT in the Subject Line.
Huge thanks again to everyone. GET BRITAIN OUT will continue to fight for as long as it takes to try and make sure we get the best relationship and free trade deal with our close neighbours in the EU, as well as with countries around the world for our THE UNITED KINGDOM’S GLOBAL FUTURE.
Jayne
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