A no-deal Brexit has seemingly been avoided
A trade deal between the United Kingdom and European Union been agreed just days before the December 31 deadline, which otherwise would have seen the UK crash out of the common market and on to World Trade Organisation trading terms.
Deal is done
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 24, 2020
At a press conference scheduled for 3pm from Downing Street, the prime minister will confirm that, after months of tense negotiations, an agreement between Westminster and Brussels has finally been reached.
The deal will mean that Britain and the EU can continue to trade without imposing tariffs on goods, which would have an impact on prices for consumers.
Parliament will be recalled to vote on the agreement on Wednesday 30 December. Labour leader Keir Starmer is understood to be instructing his shadow cabinet to back the deal.
Some hardline Brexiteers will potentially be disappointed with the terms of our future trading relationship with the EU, particularly regarding fisheries, but even Brexit leader Nigel Farage signalled his satisfaction with the deal.
Speaking on TalkRadio before the deal was officially announced, Farage said: “[Boris Johnson] has done what he said he’d do on the big picture.
“On the detail, such as we’ll be back in charge of our fisheries, history may judge some of those aspects a little more harshly. But on the big stuff, the war is over.”
Prominent Remainers maintain that though the deal is better than no-deal, the best deal we had was being a member of the European Union.
“The very best of deals was the deal we had as a member of the EU,” tweeted former MP Anna Soubry.
“Of the possibilities open to our country today, this is literally the best possible news we could wake up to,” said broadcaster James O’Brien.
“It won’t feel that way when you compare it to what we had but there’s no point doing that today. It will just enrage you.”
