Brexit’s going to be great. Let's look at how the message is getting out there.
How do we all overcome the massive funds of the Remain campaigns?
In the EU Referendum campaign, Remain outspent Leave by 2 to 1. Even without the £9.3 million that David Cameron’s government spent on its leaflet and internet propaganda, the Remain side still outspent the Leave side by millions.
[Source Official Electoral Commission data, 2017.]
Remain £28,37O, 565
Leave 13,436, 246
Since the Referendum, how has the Leave side done?
Since the Referendum, the situation has got worse. As everyone knows and as people like Nigel Farage and Leave Means Leave openly admit, they thought the battle was won and went on sabbatical. the Remain side started spending vast amounts on court cases, on building anti-Brexit organizations, and on online campaigns, a lot of which have been funded by foreign money. In time, Brexit organizations started to return to the fray. Nigel came back and Leave Means Leave was formed.
There is in my mind that Leave has been losing the publicity battle. Whilst this is partly down to media bias — in particular from the BBC, Sky News and ITN — it is also because the focus has been on rallies to the converted rather than a more inclusive media campaign which also gives facts to people
With the incompetent and deliberate pro-Remain approach of Mrs. May and the appalling, bullying behavior by the EU, the Leave argument should have been a breeze. Project Fear was proved conclusively by events to have been a complete fiction. Remainers talk about the bus, but what about the litany of lies by the authorities? All their claims and threats have proved to have been false.
The EU has behaved abominably. Who on earth would want to stay in the sclerotic mess of the EU, apart from extreme ideologues? Certainly not ordinary voters.
And yet the message hasn’t got out there — or not well enough, at least.
A multi-targeted approach to Brexit
I continue to believe that only a mass public campaign to unseat Remain MPs at the next General Election will have any effect on MPs who will be voting on some form of measures to thwart Brexit in the coming months. A vibrant new pro-Brexit leader of the Conservative Party will make a difference, but it will not be enough. We must hit Remain MPs — especially those representing Leave constituencies — hard in their ballot boxes. By this, I mean promising to vote them out at the next election. Grab them by their ballot boxes, and their minds will surely follow. Either they respect the Referendum result in full and we exit on 31 October 2019 regardless of anything, or they will lose their job. Simple.
The other side of this campaign is less visible but no less important. It involves serious reports produced by serious organizations, explaining how a managed WTO exit can deliver what the people voted for, without catastrophic consequences. Indeed we still see the ‘sunlit uplands’ which this can bring to us, albeit after a short period of turbulence whilst the EU comes to its senses.
It involves sustained pressure behind the scenes, educating MPs, and showing a clear path to our exit from the EU on 31 October. LIKE THIS.
This ‘one-pager’ summarises what is a clear and deliverable plan for the next three months and thereafter
Leaving the EU on 31 October 2019 while seeking a better deal — As things stand, the UK will leave the EU on 31 October 2019 in both UK domestic law and in international law. The European Communities Act 1972 will be repealed, restoring total sovereign control to the UK, including over agriculture, fisheries, and the environment.
There is no democratic case for stopping or further delaying the process of leaving the EU. Any further delay risks grave corrosion of public trust. The Government must rule out requests for further extensions. As the EU refuses to negotiate it must be the Government’s policy to exit the EU without a deal unless they offer substantial changes.
Leaving the EU without the draft Withdrawal Agreement — This does not mean the absence of cooperation. The EU has already prepared mutual guarantees for the rights of citizens, the continuation of air services, road haulage, and other matters. The Government should seek to build on these. The UK will remain part of numerous multilateral agreements covering the UK and EU and will continue to agree on deals which WTO states have with each other.
The financial settlement and the windfall — In the absence of a Withdrawal Agreement, the Government must not consider the UK to be liable for the estimated £39 billion bill as confirmed by the House of Lords European Union Committee in 2017. If the EU challenge this, an appropriate international arbitration mechanism could be used.
A substantial part of the estimated £39 billion saved should be used on measures including tax cuts, to mitigate any potential negative effects of leaving the EU on WTO terms, to compensate some businesses, to increase business investment, and to encourage economic growth. The prospects for growth will also be enhanced by removing the period of uncertainty for business and investors caused by the Implementation Period.
Citizens’ rights — The UK should unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU citizens currently in the UK to continue to live and work in the UK broadly as they do today. EU citizens should have the same rights as UK citizens.
Trading arrangements — The UK should assume a trading relationship on WTO terms. The Government should accelerate work to mitigate the consequences of exiting without the Withdrawal Agreement in place, including taking unilateral and reciprocal measures in our mutual interests. The UK should propose continuing our free trade with the EU, using a minimum two-year GATT standstill arrangement, while negotiating a comprehensive FTA.
Tariffs and quotas — In default of an agreement with the EU, the UK should take such measures on agri-food tariffs and quotas as are necessary to avoid inflation, and do deals with exporters such as Canada, Australia, and NZ.
Services — The UK will seek to implement two-way arrangements for mutual recognition on services, including enhanced equivalence for financial services. The drafting for services can be relatively simple and could be implemented in final form, effective from exit day.
Offers of bilateral cooperation with the EU — These should be offered in areas of mutual interest in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation, with draft treaties providing for a UK-EU Free Trade Plus agreement, cooperation on defense and security without prejudice to the primacy of NATO, and other issues such as Gibraltar and education.
Northern Ireland — Alternative arrangements should be proposed to provide an invisible and compliant border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland using currently available administrative and technical procedures but without any need for new technology. No new infrastructure or checks at the border will be required.
The UK’s future trade strategy — Political, trade and regulatory independence for the UK is the basis on which most countries around the world choose to govern themselves. Independence will bring new growth opportunities for our economy and will allow the UK to conclude other FTAs, whilst also strengthening the UK in EU negotiations.
The document proposes a range of unilateral, bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral measures — concerning the EU but also countries around the world. Many EU regulations impede growth; the UK needs the freedom to do better. This will enable strong trade with both the EU and the world, as well as strengthening the precious union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
