PRESS RELEASE – December 2018
Ref: Seua18
The Suffolk E.U. Alliance (SEUA) is intensifying its campaign of awareness of the traps of Brexit. It claims that the public has been shielded from the reality of numerous benefits that are about to be lost as a result of a drip-feed of misinformation and deception.
According to SEUA chair Julia Ewart the government’s progression of Brexit since 2016 has been an alarming litany of misinformation, smoke screens and mirrors, anything in fact to get rid of Brexit and move on. The reality is that Brexit politicians will be unable to unshackle themselves from their legacy and they need to consider this before it’s too late to do so.
Julia Ewart: “No one denies that this subject needed to be exercised. Had we not gone through this process we’d still be confronted by the likes of Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage with their infantile depiction of what can only be described as fairyland. We know now that fairyland doesn’t exist. Only a handful of extreme politicians still believe in it. Yet far too many politicians accept this predicament and choose to carry on regardless, using the lame excuse: ‘will of the people’.
“With a huge budget and a dedicated department, two Brexit secretaries have had two and half years to find fairyland, Narnia, Brexit-Eutopia – call it what you want – and they haven’t. Nonetheless I concede, Brexit was a boil that had to be lanced.
“As an ex-Nightingale nurse I know that lancing a boil is seldom a simple matter – and in this case there’s a lot of very unpleasant stuff that’s followed in its wake. Rather like the cat that’s caught with a mouse in its mouth as it comes through the cat-flap and then compounds its error by running upstairs with it and hides, the Brexit politicians have been winging it, covering their tracks with deceptions along the way.”
The alliance cites four particular deceptions:
1) ‘After Brexit we will be able to trade with Europe and be free to trade with the rest of the world’.
This is surely not true. The reality is that our trade with the EU is currently tariff-free – although not for much longer – and the US is currently our largest single nation trading partner, and that’s just one among over 70 nations in total, all soon to be discarded.
2) ‘Article 50 cannot be revoked.’
Former attorney general Dominic Grieve, and Lord Kerr who drafted Article 50, both say that this statement is not true. Meanwhile, the government created the illusion that it is true. Donald Tusk is on record as saying that he believes it can be revoked and/or extended. He is among many, including the European Court of Justice.
3) ‘The Brexit referendum result is binding’.
Not so. We know that the EU Referendum Act (20125) contains no such statement. Nor can it – under UK law parliament is sovereign on all matters.
4) ‘If we stay within the EU Turkey will become a member and we’ll have more middle-eastern migrants to deal with’.
This was a pre-referendum deception, probably from Vote Leave. While the UK remains within the EU it can exercise its veto to prevent Turkey joining. It would not be alone. Once out, the UK has no control over Turkey’s application.
Furthermore, Dan Poulter, MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, tried to rid himself of awkward questions by misleading the public. He said in a letter to a constituent:
“It’s worth bearing in mind that the EU membership we had is no longer on offer. Things have moved on very quickly and, having given our notice, the EU would be likely to exact very different conditions were we either to seek to re-join or, before the end of next March, ask to rescind Article 50. This could include an end to our opt-outs, possible membership of the euro, and much higher contributions to the EU budget – without our rebate. There is therefore no real option to remain, but only to go back in on different, less favourable terms.”
Putting aside the breathtaking defeatism of this statement, the alliance cites this as expected negativity from an MP who claims he voted Remain but who conducts himself otherwise. The alliance disagrees with him. None of his assertions can be substantiated with evidence. We have yet to leave. As members of the EU our terms of membership are still in place. Judicial authorities in the UK and the EU have confirmed that Article 50 can be rescinded – we can change our minds. There will quite likely be some punishment – after all, it will have to be seen to be done, for obvious political reasons – but the costs incurred by the UK so far would be more than enough to deter any additional countries entertaining an un-researched and careless Brexit of their own. Furthermore, a positive Remain politician would express curiosity on what this punishment might amount to.
The leaders of our neighbouring 27 Nations within the EU have all expressed regret and sadness that the UK is leaving a United Europe. Many have questioned the constitutional validity of a referendum that allows seventeen million people to take sixty five million people out of a United Europe. They also point to the very ‘odd’ exclusion of a further five million UK subjects, British passport holders, living and working legitimately outside the UK but in EU territory.
Julia Ewart: “The SEUA is of the opinion that it is the duty of our MPs to speak the unambiguous truth. Assertions made by politicians to date appear to be designed to deceive and instil fear into their constituents, a high proportion of who are pursuing nothing more than their legitimate right for our nation to be allowed to express an opinion on the truth of Brexit.
“Parliamentarians need to be fully aware that currently their problems don’t end in March next year. That’s when they look likely to begin. “
(Ends)
(989 words)
Further information: Julia Ewart suffolkeu@gmail.com
Press relations contact: Richard Hare c/o suffolkeu@gmail.com