Jonathan voted for the UK to leave the EU back in 2016, in the belief that with control of our own borders, the ability to forge new trade deals with global partners, and the freedom to legislate free from Brussels, Britain can look forward to a prosperous future.

He has provided the following statement on the Brexit process to share with his constituents:

I am content with the deal the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been able to bring back from Brussels and I am pleased that the EU is supporting it strongly too. It is a deal that protects UK citizens in the EU and those EU citizens who have made their home here in the UK and it is a deal that has outlined a peaceful and prosperous way forward for Northern Ireland and all those who live there. 

The UK left the EU on 31st January. A transition period has followed during which market access remains the same and the UK and EU are negotiating an agreement on their future relationship. The manifesto I stood on was clear that the transition period would not be extended beyond December 2020 and this has been put into law.

I appreciate that some constituents may have concerns about the upcoming deadline, but Ministers have already shown that they are able to negotiate international agreements with speed and efficiency. After all, the Withdrawal Agreement was re-opened and re-negotiated in under three months despite many believing that this would be not be possible.

Negotiations have been continuing throughout the coronavirus outbreak with discussions taking place via videoconference in April, May and June. I understand that significant progress has been made across a number of areas and the technical detail is well understood by both sides.

The UK and the EU share closely aligned interests and I am confident that the determination and willingness of the Parties to reach a free trade agreement will ensure that the matter is brought to a conclusion by the end of 2020 as legally committed to in good faith by both Parties as part of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on the Future Partnership.

Going forward, you might find the article below by George Yarrow both interesting and instructive about some of the key issues that will face both the UK and the EU negotiators in the weeks and months ahead.

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/economics-and-finance/do-not-extend-the-brexit-transition-period-eu-coronavirus

From what I can glean, George Yarrow is an Oxford University professor and a former head of the Regulatory Policy Institute and he advocated for the ‘Norway Option’ rather than a hard Brexit during 2018.

I broadly concur with most of his thoughts about the current state of the negotiations.