The Apostate | TheArticle

I have just heard the bad news that the Brexit talks are continuing. It signals that Boris is more likely to settle for a deal that will be worse for the UK than a no-deal although it will

improve on what the EU was prepared to offer previously.

I voted Remain, and following the referendum result I saw only two possible outcomes that would not disadvantage the UK and only one that might advantage it.

The first possible outcome of the result was for the UK to remain a full member of the EU, that is to ignore the referendum result and maintain the status quo. For many politicians and

pro-remain factions this was their aim as they tried to reverse the referendum result. They almost succeeded but, in the end, they failed because this “nothing will change” outcome was both

undemocratic and merely “kicked the can down the road”. Some basic problems between the UK and EU including a lack of trust; pork barrel political dealings; ever creeping accrual of power by

Brussels; ever greater desire for uniform regulation; decreasing national control of individual nations territorial borders; erection of higher trade barriers advantaging some states while

disadvantaging other nations would remain unresolved. These problems would continue and grow as the EU travelled down its declared goal of ever-increasing power to the Brussels bureaucracy.

In sum, reversing the referendum result would solve nothing, but at least the UK would be no worse off. It would have been a triumph of short-term myopia over long-term strategic thinking.

The second viable outcome of the referendum was for the UK to make a clean break with the EU and, through its parliamentary, democratic system, determine its own future. Undeniably this may

cause economic and social pain in the short and even medium term. It may even precipitate the break-up of the UK, although none of this is certain. However, no pain, no gain. Despite the

possible negative impact, it leaves the UK’s future entirely in the hands of our leaders. No more passing the buck onto the rapacious Brussels bureaucracy, no splendid gatherings of heads of

state gorging themselves on heavenly grub, no more haughty edicts on the road to ever greater uniformity across the Continent. 

If we have confidence in ourselves as a nation and a clear winning strategy, then this new-found freedom could propel us to greater economic, political and social success — far outpacing

anything achievable by or within the EU.

That’s all very well, some people will say, but the case for a clean break is full of ifs and maybes and buts; it could all go terribly wrong. True — and whether it does or not depends on us

and the strategies that, as a sovereign nation, our elected leadership chooses to adopt. But that is the subject of a future article.

For now, let me put forward the reasons why a negotiated trade deal is in many ways the worst possible outcome for the UK. For a moment let’s put ourselves in the shoes of European

leadership and the Brussels bureaucracy. Having experienced the ravages of war and occupation of the 20th century, with their accompanying misery and destruction, the mission to ensure that

this ordeal is never repeated becomes the EU’s central holy cause. The strength of this desire has been both misunderstood and underrated by the UK. It manifests itself in efforts to reduce

the destructive influence of nationalism and replace it with the virtues of internationalism, at least within Europe, while erecting protective barriers to states outside Europe. Anything

that threatens this holy project must be destroyed or it may undermine and even collapse the EU itself. 

Brexit is just such a threat. If only one other nation were to follow the UK’s example, then the EU’s days could well be numbered. To avoid this happening, the EU must show that the UK has

embarked on a disastrous course of action; and to facilitate this it must retain as much power and control as it can to police what the UK does and how it does it after departure. Hence the

ludicrous demands for level playing fields, the supremacy of the European Court of Justice and the “rights” of foreign vessels to harvest fish in UK waters and who knows what else the

Government has already agreed to.

From the EU perspective, these negotiations have never been about striking an advantageous trading agreement. They have been about how closely the UK will still be bound to the shirttails of

the EU, while enjoying as few of the benefits and privileges of membership as possible. This is not a win-win negotiation, as the UK has assumed; it never has been. It is a win-lose

interaction, a zero-sum game that the EU thinks it must win if it is to ensure its survival so that no other member will ever follow the UK’s ill-conceived, nationalistic course of action.

The EU project has much in common with a religion. It is a matter of faith and those who leave it are apostates. Religions do not, in general, deal kindly with those who leave them.

It is vital for the UK that January 1, 2021 is truly Independence Day. It must be been seen that the UK is free of any control from the EU and it must not sign any agreements that give such

power to the EU, no matter how small it may seem.

As these so-called negotiations continue, the clouds darken for the UK. The pressure on Boris Johnson to reciprocate to any small concessions made by the EU will be enormous. After all, most

people think this is a win-win negotiation, so if they give something then we should give something. But any concessions to the EU will mean they have increased control over what the UK can

do after Independence Day and they will use this power to the UK’s disadvantage. 

The Prime Minister must stand firm and make it clear that the UK will not budge one millimetre from where it stands. History will judge Boris Johnson on how he performs over the next six

weeks. Will he be judged as great leader, in the mould of his hero, Winston Churchill — or just another appeaser, who allowed the UK to become a vassal European state?

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