Johnson urges parliament to rush Brexit deal into law

Bloomberg

Boris Johnson urged members of Parliament to approve his Brexit trade agreement and complete Britain’s four-year divorce from the European Union.
Parliament was recalled from its Christmas break for an emergency session on Wednesday to rush the deal into law in a single day, 24 hours before the UK leaves the EU single market and customs union.
Failure to endorse the deal would risk the return of costly tariffs on trade and severe disruption to supply chains. But with support from the opposition Labour Party, Johnson is virtually certain to get his way.
“The central purpose of this bill is to accomplish something the British people always knew in their hearts was possible,” Johnson said as he opened the debate on the legislation to write the deal into UK law. Britain can “trade and cooperate” with other European countries, while retaining “sovereign control of our laws and destiny,” he said.
The agreement removes the UK from the constraints of EU competition and state aid laws, meaning it can choose to invest and boost industries wherever it likes, Johnson said. It also gives the UK control over its fishing waters, immigration policy and law-making, and provides “certainty” to airlines and haulers who have been hit by the pandemic, he said.
“We are going to open a new chapter in our national story,” Johnson said. “The responsibility now rests with all of us to make the best use of the powers we’ve regained.”
The prime minister won important political support from a prominent group of hard-line Brexit supporters in his Conservative Party, who said they will back the deal. The Scottish National Party attacked the agreement, saying it will harm Scotland’s fishing industry, and told Johnson it will bolster the case for independence.
After winning a commanding majority on the back of a promise to “get Brexit done,” his team managed to negotiate the agreement while minsters at home battled the coronavirus and the worst recession for more than 300 years.
Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said his party will vote for the agreement to avoid the prospect of crashing out without a trade accord, but he criticised it as “imperfect” and “thin.”
“We have only one day before the end of the transition period, and it’s the only deal that we have,” Starmer said. “Ultimately voting to implement this treaty is the only way to ensure we avoid no-deal.”
Former prime minister Theresa May, who resigned in July 2019 after failing to secure parliamentary backing for her Brexit plans, also welcomed the deal. However, she said she is disappointed at the lack of provision for the services sector, which makes up 80% of Britain’s economy, and the City of London financial district.
“We have a deal in trade which benefits the EU, but not one in services that would have benefited the UK,” May said. She highlighted the extra bureaucracy professionals will face when trying to sell their services in the bloc.
The House of Commons is expected to vote on the plan at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday and the House of Lords later in the evening, ensuring the legislation is pushed through in time for the end of the Brexit transition period at 11 p.m. on Thursday.