Ex-minister demands EU exit within a year
A CHALLENGE to the Government to deliver a “swift, clean Brexit” before the end of 2017 has been laid down by a former Cabinet minister.
Senior Tory MP Owen Paterson has written to Leave supporters saying their efforts “must be rewarded” in 2017.
The former environment secretary is a leading member of the Leave Means Leave group which is campaigning to ensure the Government delivers Brexit quickly and does not give in to those trying to dilute it by staying in the European single market and the customs union.
He called for the law which joined Britain to the EU in the 1970s to be repealed in the coming 12 months.
He said: “The UK has taken a massive step forward in the past year – 2016 was the year the British people voted to get their country back.
“However to take back control we must repeal the 1972 Act and 2017 is the year this must be delivered.”
He praised the thousands of campaigners across Britain who helped win the vote which has gained the country’s freedom from Brussels rule.
Thriving
He added: “This commitment will not go unrewarded as there are so many benefits the country will see because of the Brexit vote.”
And he made it clear that nothing less than leaving the EU fully will be acceptable.
He said: “When the UK leaves the restrictions of the internal market of the EU and the customs union we can once again take back control of our own laws, our own money, our own borders and negotiate trade deals with the rest of the world.
“No longer will the UK be subject to the European Court of Justice. Crucially the UK will no longer be forced to pay into the EU budget to the tune of over £11billion a year net.”
Urging the Government to push for a quick exit, he said: “As we move into 2017 our Government is about to embark on Brexit negotiations that will pave the way for a thriving and independent UK. The sooner this can begin the better.”
And he warned the “important battles” still lie ahead for Brexit campaigners as top EU figures like Jean-Claude Juncker and Brexit opponents like Nick Clegg, Anna Soubry and Ed Miliband try to undermine the historic referendum vote.
He said: “More and more people including from the world of business recognise the potential opportunities from Brexit.
“Just last week Italy’s largest bank Unicredit launched Italy’s biggest ever rights issue of 13billion euro in London using most of the world’s major investment banks.
“This demonstrates that London has a gravitational pull and shows how much EU nations need London’s skills and deep liquid capital markets to help them survive and thrive at a lower cost.”
He added: “It is vital that the work of Leave Means Leave continues in 2017 to campaign for a swift, clean Brexit to ensure that the UK can crystallise the benefits of leaving the EU at the soonest opportunity.”