Why the trade deal with the EU should be welcomed and why it's time we looked past Brexit
There is little point in raking over old coals when it comes to Brexit. Supporters of the European Union want Britain to rejoin, that is not going to happen for a generation at least. While some Brexiteers want to continue fighting the same battles perennially to the detriment of the nation.
Britain is no longer part of the EU but the decoupling with the single bloc was about forging our own path. That included trading with the EU as well as other markets.
The Brexit freedoms were evident in recent weeks as the Government was able to nimbly leverage a trade deal with the US and India. Now, it is doing the same with the EU.
Critics have already started claiming that it is a surrender. If that is the case then every trade deal any nation agrees is a surrender.
If Britain is to stand strong in a volatile world then it needs to be seen as a beacon of pragmatism. There will be give and take, and of course the British public will be watching that the Government doesn’t give more than it takes.
The reset in relationship with the EU should be welcomed by Brexiteers. Not only does it partially vindicate a central argument made during the referendum by the Leave campaign - that Britain could still trade with Europe and do so on good terms - but also strengthens Britain’s position as a trading nation.
It should no longer be about saving or undoing Brexit but rather looking past Brexit.
As Conservative peer Lord Rose highlighted, the world is a different place to when Britain left the EU in 2020.
A lot of people are tired of having the same old arguments. Unless critics can come up with a viable alternative as to how we’re going to boost trade, then the deal with the EU is to be welcomed.