Dear John,

We urgently need an extension to the transition period.

This is a national crisis. We must stop the clock.

Chaos at the border. The government has let a mutant COVID virus run rampant. Medicine and vaccines may not make it into the country. Our supply of food is in danger, and panic buying has already begun.

Brand new polling by Best for Britain shows extension has a more than 2-to-1 backing. The majority of Conservative voters support extension, and in every single UK region. Just one in five are against. You can read the full breakdown of our polling here.

Voters know the UK is out of time and out of options. Conservative MPs are calling for an extension. The government must do the sensible thing and extend.

Sign the urgent petition calling for an extension to the transition. We have just a few days to avoid compounding this national emergency. Sign today.

Extending the transition period beyond the end of the year is the best way to get the deal Britain needs.

Best for Britain’s polling found two thirds of Brits want a deal. And one third of those want a deal with further negotiations for a more comprehensive agreement.

We need a deal which lets us stay ahead of COVID. That means participating in the Horizon science fund of over €80 billion. That means participating in educational programmes like Erasmus, which fosters learning across borders.

 If we can’t get a deal, we need an extension to avoid compounding a national crisis. If there’s a deal to be had, no arbitrary timeline set a year ago, should get in the way. Even if we reached a deal today, neither side would have time to scrutinise it properly. 

All of our attention must be on fighting this highly contagious new strain of coronavirus. Let’s stop the clock and get a proper deal.

Sign the petition to work with Europe to fight COVID and to reach the deal Britain needs. 

In the long term, the UK needs a comprehensive deal with Europe. Right now, we need to avoid a no deal, and ensure food and medicine makes it to Britain over the winter.

The best chance we have of getting both is to extend the transition period.

Best wishes,

Naomi Smith, 
CEO, Best for Britain