This week, I spoke against the Government’s disastrous No-Deal Brexit Plan, opposing the Internal Market Bill which shamefully passed with a slightly diminished majority of 77. This offers further confirmation (if you needed it) that the Government is lurching towards a disastrous No-Deal Brexit which breaches international law, threatens the union and lowers the UK’s global standing. At a time of economic recession, mass redundancy and public health crisis, it paves the way for a monumental act of self-destruction which will leave people in Streatham and across the UK worse-off.
By overriding the Withdrawal Agreement, the Government has undermined what little integrity it had left, throwing their own trustworthiness into serious doubt. Breaking an international treaty in this way is unacceptable. It can’t be one rule for our Government and another for the rest of the world. This also weakens our chances of securing favourable trade deals in future. If we’re willing to break international law when it suits us, this is hardly the basis for favourable trade deals with other countries when the transition period ends.
This Bill also drives a further wedge between our Government and the devolved administrations, jeopardising the Good Friday Agreement and infringing the devolution settlement. Developing such important legislation without the collaboration, co-operation and above all, consent, of the devolved administrations, is the exact opposite of what a truly unionist government would do.
As usual, the Tories are playing with the future of everyone in the UK and the stakes could not be higher. Even before the current crisis the Government’s own worst-case scenario predicted food, medicine and fuel shortages, as well as price hikes on everyday items. If they cared, they wouldn’t be risking this during an ongoing pandemic, a growing jobs crisis and the worst recession in history. You don’t dig yourself out of a hole by digging even deeper.
This is a new low even by the standards of this Government, which has brought forward some already shocking legislation.