Six tests Brexit deal must pass

LAST week the government triggered Article 50 and now the most complex set of negotiations our country has arguably ever undertaken can begin.

There is no doubt that we are leaving the EU but the question is how and it is vital for our national interest that we get the best deal possible.

Sir Keir Starmer, Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary, has set out six key tests we will expect the Brexit deal to pass in order to win our support in parliament:

1. Does it ensure a strong and collaborative future relationship with the EU?

●●2. Does it deliver the ‘exact same benefits’ (in Brexit Secretary David Davis’s own words) as we currently have as members of the Single Market and Customs Union?

●●3. Does it ensure the fair management of migration in the interests of the economy and communities?

●●4. Does it defend rights and protections and prevent a race to the bottom?

●●5. Does it protect national security and our capacity to tackle crossborder crime?

●●6. Does it deliver for all regions and nations of the UK?

These are tough tests, in the national interest.

There are some who say that we should walk away from the EU with no deal at all, but this would lead to economic and legal chaos.

This week the UK manufacturer’s association the EEF expressed its concern about this. It cannot be allowed to happen. The British people will not accept any attempt by Brussels to bully us during the negotiations and nor, once the talks are concluded, should we accept any attempt by the Conservative government to bully us into accepting a deal which will harm our economy, our national security or erode workers’ rights.