Section:GDN 1J PaGe:4 Edition Date:190731 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 30/7/2019 18:16 cYanmaGentaYellowbla
- The Guardian Wednesday 31 July 2019
4 Opinion
A
new prime minister enters Downing
Street promising to help the less
advantaged, bring prosperity and
opportunity to every area of the
country, and make a success of
Brexit. Conservative MPs cheer , a
new era begins and there is a bounce
in the polls. Three years ago that
was Theresa May, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Our new prime minister is well versed in history, so
undoubtedly he will know the famous quote that
history repeats itself fi rst as tragedy, then as farce.
Last week I left the government. I would not have
signed up to Boris Johnson’s pledge to leave the
European Union on 31 October with no deal if necessary.
Initially he said leaving without a deal was a “ million-
to-one” possibility. However, the rhetoric soon changed
to the more confrontational tone of “ do or die”. He
has even rejected negotiations over a time limit to the
Irish backstop. Now only a completely new withdrawal
agreement would be acceptable. New red lines have
been introduced for the political declaration that
will shape our ongoing relationship with our former
partners. There is talk of no-deal preparations being
ramped up, but in reality these are mitigations.
Whil e no-dealers celebrate, the sensible majority
are concerned. Brexit should not mean no deal. An
optimist might say the cause for hope is that this
strategy will see movement from the EU and if, as
a result, we secure a change to the backstop this
allows Johnson to present a repackaged deal to
parliament in the autumn. In the unlikely event that
this happens, I shall vote for Johnson’s deal , as I did
three times for May’s.
Stephen
Hammond
is Conservative
MP for
Wimbledon and
was a minister
for health until
last weekSian Norris
is a writer and
feminist activistBrexit and no deal are not the same thing. The former
will allow an orderly exit from our 4 6-year association
with the EU. In contrast, the latter means a traumatic
break in trading relationships, economic upheaval and
disruption to travel and health arrangements. We shall
resort to World Trade Organi zation terms with likely
higher tariff s, trade barriers and food costs.
After a no-deal exit our negotiating position will
be weaker. The pound is likely to have fallen , causing
prices to rise for every citizen; trade will have been
hampered; no new trade deals will have been signed;
and the promised post-Brexit investment will not have
yet boosted the economy. So in any post-no-deal talks
with Europe, Britain will be in a weaker economic
position and the EU is still likely to demand the £39bn
divorce bill negotiated by May, as well as the terms of the
withdrawal agreement.
I understand that there are passionately held views
about Brexit. Many in the new government were content
to defy the Conservative whip and ultimately destroyed
May’s premiership due to their beliefs. But Brexit and no
deal have hugely diff erent consequences. I know many
fi rm Brexiteers who recognise the challenges of no deal
so they want us to leave the EU in an orderly way. I would
describe myself as a pro-deal Conservative. I voted to
remain but as a democrat I backed May’s deal. However,
like many Conservatives I fi rmly believe it would be
wrong and against our nation’s interests to leave the EU
without a deal.
The media reports that the new prime minister
has promised a 31 October Brexit “ by any means
necessary ”, but he also understands that our country
is a parliamentary democracy and that he must ensure
majority support in the Commons for his Brexit policy.
As a leading Vote Leave campaigner, he was also an
enthusiastic proponent of the notion that Brexit would
allow us to take back our sovereignty, to make our own
laws. Yet to stop parliament sitting to express a view
would make a mockery of that claim and in eff ect mean
our sovereignty was in the hands not of the people but
of the government. Johnson knows he has a wafer-thin
majority and there are many pro-deal Conservatives, like
me, both on the back benches and in his government,
with a passionately held belief that no deal must n ever
happen. Therefore I am convinced he will ultimately
reject any aide’s advice to prorogue parliament.
I hope the prime minister will spend the summer
visiting European capitals negotiating a deal that he can
secure a parliamentary majority for. A deal is available
to him but would require compromise on the backstop.
Instead of shouting no deal, it is time to recognise that a
decision and a plan is required, to put aside ideology and
embrace pragmatism. Some have called me a rebel and a
mutineer for advocating this compromise. The reality is I
am an economic pragmatist and pro-business.
Johnson has written about his hero Winston
Churchill’s place in history. If he gets a deal with the EU
that guarantees the UK’s economic prosperity, security
and citizens’ rights, then he will secure his.W
hen I watched the video of
Mark Field’s actions against
the Greenpeace protester
Janet Barker , I had a visceral
reaction. Tears rushed into
my eyes when confronted
with the rage in his
expression, the shock on her
face. I wasn’t alone. Many women I spoke to saw the
assertion of a brutal kind of male dominance. Some knew
all too well the moment when a man aggressively decides
that an outspoken woman must be put in her place.
For those of us who know the reality of male
violence against women, this looked like a moment
when a pervasive culture of male entitlement escaped
into the open.
Just over a month after Field manhandled Barker
from a black-tie dinner, the new prime minister has
dropped the Whitehall investigation into his behaviour.
The decision came after Boris Johnson sacked Field
from his role as a Foreign Offi ce minister. A No 10
spokesman said the investigation was a “matter for the
previous PM ”.
An investigation into whether Field should be a
minister when he has already lost his ministerial post
is arguably redundant. But Johnson’s actions leave a
sour taste. This looks like powerful men closing ranks
against women – and not for the fi rst time.
After all, isn’t that just what happened on the night of
the incident? While women were reacting online with
horror, those in the room were reacting with silence at
best, cheers at worst. The well-dressed diners closed
ranks against the woman from Greenpeace, and took the
part of the man with his hands on the back of her neck.
We were told to “calm down and move on”. Moving on
is exactly what this government has now done.
The dropping of the investigation feels like the
natural conclusion to that silence, those claps. It’s hard
to avoid an impression of the powerful protecting one
another. And it sends a clear message to men: you can
behave with aggression towards women, and so long as
it’s politically expedient, eventually no one will care.
Because make no mistake – dropping the
investigation is highly expedient. The prime
minister has come to power with a wafer-thin majority
that’s set to go down to one if the Conservatives lose
tomorrow’s by election in Brecon and Radnorshire.
Johnson can’t aff ord to lose the support of any
MPs, and dropping an investigation is one way to
bolster good will.
Obviously Field couldn’t lose his ministerial role
twice. But a completed investigation would at least
have created an opportunity to hold his conduct to
account, and sent a clear message that his behaviour
had been taken seriously by those in charge. While
procedure allows Johnson to decide to drop the
investigation, for women watching it feels like yet
another kick in the teeth.Stephen
Hammond
Sian
Norris
I could not be in
a government
that advocated
a no-deal Brexit
The Mark Field
inquiry is over.
It feels like men
closing ranks
d
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