The Week UK 01Feb2020

NEWS 5

1February2020 THE WEEK

...and how they were covered

A“longandbruisingchapterinBritain’s
politicalhistory”hasdrawntoaclose,
saidTheTimes.Lastweek,theQueen
gaveassenttotheEuropeanUnion
withdrawalbill,enshrininginlaw
Britain’sdeparturefromthebloc,and
BorisJohnsoncalledforthe“rancourand
division”ofthepastthreeyearstobeleft
behind.Thisweek,“Britainbecomesa
fullyindependentnationforthefirsttime
inalmosthalfacentury,”saidTheMail
onSunday,andweshouldrejoice.To
commemoratetheevent,a50pcoinwith
theinscription“Peace,ProsperityandFriendshipwithall
nations”wasduetocomeintocirculationonFriday.At11pm
thatday,theendoftheUK’s47-yearmembershipoftheEU
wassettobemarkedbyalightdisplayinDowningStreet,
withacountdownclockprojectedontoNo.10.

Brexitdayisbeingcast“asamomentofnationalliberation”,
saidFintanO’TooleinTheObserver.Butwhoisreallybeing
liberated?NotScotland,andnotNorthernIreland–which
bothrejecteditemphatically.NotevenLondon.Brexitmarks
theliberation ofanation thatdoesn’t exist:“England without
London” and partsof Wales. The public mood isnow one of
“listlessacceptance”, saidNickCohenin the same paper, but
that’s just becausewe’resickof thewhole debate.The coming
yearswillsee Britain isolated andindecline. We’releaving the
most successful free tradezone onEarth, infavourof an
uncertainnew relationshipwiththe EU.“Businessesthat rely
onthe frictionlessmovementof goodswillsuffer.” The future
ofindustriesfrom pharmaceuticals andcar-makingto fishing
is atrisk,threatening “hundreds ofthousandsofjobs”.When
historians lookbackon 31 January 2020 they will conclude
that“the painwas yetto come”.

Enoughofthis“defeatism”,saidLeo

McKinstryintheDailyExpress.Sincethe

Brexitvote,thepro-EUdiehardshave

wallowedingloom.But,contrarytotheir

forecasts,unemploymentisatitslowest

ratesince 1974 andsterlingisbuoyant.

AndnowBrexitlookssettospark“a

Britishrenaissance”.Lastweek,theCBI

reportedthegreatestsurgeinconfidence

amongmanufacturersonrecord,andthe

IMFhaspredictedthatoverthenexttwo

yearsoureconomywillgrowfasterthan

thatofanyothermajorEuropean

economy.Indeed,asaGermanI’dsay

EuropecouldlearnalotfromtheBritish,

saidAlexandervonSchoenburginthe

DailyMail.Germany’seconomyis“onthebrinkof

recession”;PresidentMacronofFranceislockedinalosing

wartoreformthe“vastandcreaking”Frenchstate;andItaly

isinpermanentdecline.FreefromEurope’sshackles,Britain

can“lookforwardtothefuturewithconfidence,whiletheEU

anditsmemberstatesremaintrappedinbureaucraticsclerosis,

obsessedwithregulationandwelfare”.

Britain’swithdrawalis“agoodthingfortheEU”,saidLuuk

MolthofonEUObserver.UntiltheToryvictoryinDecember,

manyinBrussels hadhoped forachangeofheart. But theUK

was alwaysa“difficult partner”, and the wranglesover Brexit

have dominatedEuropean politics inrecent years. The EUhas

other “important challenges” totackle,such ashow to beef

up itscommon foreign policyandpromote closer integration.

That’s thepoint,saidQuentinLetts inThe Sun:the British

don’t wanttobe part ofthe EU’sever moreambitious federal

project. Britainisl eaving“the annoyinglyintrusive legal and

politicalentity knownas the EuropeanUnion”. Weare not,

though, leavingEurope: we willalways remainaproudpart

of it. Ourflagmay no longer stand outsidethe European

Parliament, “but people ofEurope,we stillloveyou!”

Signhere:lessthanayeartonegotiateadeal

Brexit day

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they were

leaving the UK, the novelist Philip Pullman was quick to sympathise.

Britain, he said inatweet, isa“foul country”. Pullman is entitled to

his view. But even if Britain is foul, is it really more foul than other nations? Comparisons are tricky,

but consider some of our neighbours. Italy is corrupt and unstable, and until recently, was in the grip

of the far-right. In France, police brutality, especially against minorities, is onascale unimaginable in

Britain. Germany may havealiberal reputation, yet it only passed same-sex marriage laws in 2017,

and the far-right AfD is the largest opposition party in the Bundestag. The supposedly progressive

Danes have some of the most hostile anti-immigrant policies in Europe; Islamophobia isaserious

and growing problem in tolerant Sweden; and every year, visitors to the Netherlands are shocked

anew by “blackface” celebrations at Christmas. Foul as we may be, international surveys show that

Britons have some of the most welcoming attitudes to immigrants in Europe. We’re unusually kind

and generous: we were rated the sixth most charitable country in the world in the 2018 World Giving

Index. And Britain gives more in international aid than any country except the US. Of course, the UK

is far fromautopi a, and people should continue to speak out against injustice, discrimination and

prejudice. To do so isapositive act: it reflectsabelief that even if we’ll never be perfect, we are

perfectable; but simply to dismiss the country as “foul” isacounsel of despair.

THEWEEK

Caroline Law

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Britainwillentera“twilightperiod”from1February,saidJim

BrunsdenintheFT.ItwillcontinuecontributingtotheEUbudget

andwillstillbeboundbyEUlawsfor 11 months–butitwilllose

itsseatatthedecision-makingtable.ByMonday,theUK’s 73

MEPswillhavelosttheirjobs,UnionJackswillhavebeentaken

downalloverBrussels,andBritainwillbemarkedasaforeign

countryonEUmaps.YettheEuropeanCommissionwillstillhave

thepowertoinvestigatebreachesofEUlawintheUK,andthe

EuropeanCourtofJusticewillbeabletoimposefines.

For citizens, life will carry on as normal until the transition period

ends on 31 December this year. Free movement for both British

and EU citizens will continue: travel arrangements and holidays

won’t be affected. British subjects will still be able to use the EU

channel at airport passport control gates, and use UK driving

licences in Europe. Britain has already started introducing blue

passports in place of the EU burgundy version, but there is no

need to change them until they expire. For businesses, very little

will change in the short term; UK-EU trade will continue without

extra checks or charges during the transition period.

What follows after 31 December depends on the outcome of

“unprecedented” negotiations, said Jon Henley in The Guardian.

The talks–coveringa“vast sweep” of areas including trade,

security, fisheries, data and foreign affairs–willbegin after 25

February, withatariff- and quota-free trade deal the priority. By 1

July, the UK must decide whether to request an extension to the

transition period, which Boris Johnson has ruled out. EU officials

say adeal, if there is one, must be in place by 26 November for

the European Parliament to approve. If no agreement is signed by

31 December, Britain will fall back on World Trade Organisation

terms–effe ctivelythesame outcome asano-deal Brexit.

AfterBrexit: whathappens now?