Be ready to walk away from a bad deal with EU
As the EU continues to be intransigent over Brexit negotiations, the British government should be fully prepared to walk away with no deal rather than agree to a bad deal.
The government would certainly have the support of the British people. According to a new Sky Data poll a large majority of the public believes that ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’. A massive 74 per cent agreed the country should walk away rather than accept a bad, ‘punishment’ deal. Just 26 per cent think ‘any deal is better than no deal’.
As Justice Minister Dominic Raab has said, the UK must ‘strive for the very best outcome from these negotiations, but prepare for all eventualities’ (BBC News, October 2017).
It is worrying, therefore, that the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has written in The Times that he will only spend money on preparing for a ‘no deal scenario’ just before such a scenario should arise. The responsible action to take would be to ensure that we are prepared for a no deal scenario now, and not wait until the last minute.
We hope that the UK and EU negotiating teams will reach a deal that benefits both sides. Indeed, it is in their interest to do so. However if we want to get a good deal, we have to be willing and able to walk away from the negotiations.
If, because of EU bullying, the UK and EU agree to a bad deal, then Britain will be saddled with the terms of the deal for decades.
Ian Barrett, Church Stretton
