Making sure Brexit works for the whole United Kingdom has been a priority for the government from the very start. It is why we made strengthening the Union one of our objectives for the negotiations. It is also why we have been assiduous in sharing and discussing our plans with the devolved governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
While the EU Withdrawal Act ensures that Brexit will work for all the devolved nations and our UK devolution settlements, the special requirements of Northern Ireland, which uniquely shares a land border with another EU member state, present a more formidable challenge.
Both the UK and the EU have made a sincere commitment to the people of Northern Ireland: there will be no hard border. Equally, as a UK government, we could not countenance a future in which a border was drawn in the Irish Sea, separating Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
The agreement that the cabinet collectively reached last week answers this challenge by proposing the establishment of a new free trade area for goods between the UK and EU. This will be supported by an upfront commitment to a common rulebook for goods and agricultural products and a business-friendly customs solution – the facilitated customs arrangement – that will deliver frictionless trade with the EU, while returning the freedom to operate an independent trade policy. It is a responsible and constitutionally appropriate solution, which will benefit the economies of the UK and the EU, and which respects both the sovereignty of the UK and autonomy of the EU. It also delivers on the result of the referendum.
The UK will leave the EU on 29 March next year. Free movement will come to an end, restoring control of our borders. The supremacy of British courts will be restored, by ending the jurisdiction of the ECJ in the UK – giving us back control of our laws. And there will be no more sending vast sums of money each year to the EU, giving us back control of our money.
In recent years, the EU’s rules and regulations on goods, developed during 40 years of UK membership and influence, have remained stable. UK businesses now trade according to those rules and most have told us they have no desire to see them changed. These rules allow for the frictionless trade that currently takes place between the UK and the EU. So it makes sense to incorporate a commitment to maintaining a common rulebook into our formal agreement, to allow that frictionless trade to continue in our new free trade area.
After Brexit, the EU will no longer legislate for us. All laws will be passed by the UK parliament and the devolved legislatures. Parliament will be truly sovereign, with the freedom to accept or reject any new rules. But it would do so in the knowledge that if the UK decided to take a different approach, there could be proportionate consequences for our market access – as would be the case if we were to deviate from agreements made with any trading partner.
The UK will continue to be able to influence the common rulebook through shaping European and international standards. Britain helped establish the global system of standards. The International Organisation for Standardisation was established in London in 1946. The International Electrotechnical Commission, which sets global standards for electrics, is even older; it was formed in London in 1906. The UK will continue to influence through these international bodies. After we leave the EU, the British Standards Institute should also remain a member of the European Standards Organisation, which is not an EU institution.
Making this commitment to a common rulebook, alongside a facilitated customs arrangement that uses technology to enable frictionless trade with the EU, will avoid disruption to the integrated supply chains that have been built between the UK and EU, while allowing us to reach out and strike trade deals with new partners. Crucially, it will also ensure that Brexit strengthens our Union by guaranteeing no hard border in Northern Ireland or a border in the Irish Sea.
It is the right approach for the UK, the EU and the brighter future which together we both want to build.