“Brexit-in-law”: Why Boris’s Brexit does not currently mean Brexit

Ultimate summary for the layman and MPs of the legal case showing why the Government MUST now rescind the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration

A Brexit Facts4EU.Org Saturday summary of essential reading for MPs and the public

Even the Brexit Facts4EU.Org team’s lawyer friends will admit that for most people the law can be a dull subject. However when the legal aspects of the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration mean that the United Kingdom will not be a fully free, independent, and sovereign country on 31 December, this makes the legal aspects much more interesting.

For more than four and a half years Brexit Facts4EU.Org has summarised many complex aspects of Brexit into one-pagers suitable for busy readers with busy lives, including for MPs.

Below we are publishing a “summary of the summaries” regarding the Government’s current plans to let the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration stay in place. This directly affects our freedom from the EU at the end of this year.

It’s the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration which define Brexit, not a trade deal

The main determinants of the freedoms supposed to be delivered to the British people by their decision to leave the European Union are the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration.

Below we summarise and link to some of the numerous articles we have researched and published on this subject, many of which were peer-reviewed by highly experienced lawyers who are specialised in the EU arena. You will find 12 great articles explaining how Brexit cannot be delivered with the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration still in place, all written in layman’s language, with bullet points for speed and ease of reading. Some of the key ones are highlighted in red text.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Below is the list of a “top 14” of our Withdrawal Agreement articles to date,
with the most recent shown first:

27 Oct 2020: The EU won't let us trade normally - either with a deal or on "Aussie terms"'
‘We won’t even be able to trade like Australia unless we ditch or amend Withdrawal Agreement,’ says Brexit think tank - includes IDS statement to Facts4EU.Org

24 Oct 2020: “Brexit–in-law”: Why Boris’s Brexit does not currently mean Brexit
Ultimate summary for the layman and MPs of the legal case showing why the Government MUST now rescind the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration - links to all major articles. (This page.)

22 Oct 2020: Current UK Government policy is not to deliver Brexit
What's the likelihood of British people being presented with a sickly-sweet Brexit fudge?

18 Oct 2020: “It’s time to complete the job, Prime Minister”
12 Brexit organisations urge the scrapping of the Withdrawal Treaty.

17 Oct 2020: “Trade talks are over,” says no.10, but where’s the statement revoking the Withdrawal Treaty?
The EU is now in de facto breach of the Withdrawal Treaty, which must be repudiated immediately

11 Oct 2020: “THE EU DEAL UNMASKED: Twelve Reasons Why the UK Will Fail to Get a Canada-Style Deal”
Another devastating indictment of the EU’s negotiating position with the UK is published. Our one-page summary of the 18-page report by the CBP.

01 Oct 2020: STOP PRESS: Ever-hostile EU to take UK to its own EU-biased court over Withdrawal Treaty
We summarise once again why it’s the EU that should be facing charges

22 Sept 2020: The Unlawful EU - The Shocking Truth - We Present The Evidence
Revealed: The international law-breaking EU has been at it for years. Seven major points of evidence which are a 'must-read'. Also sent to Senator Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the US.

15 Sept 2020: “A hostile foreign power seeks to annex part of the UK - bad faith or bad manners?”
Bad faith in friendly relations between states, written for us by a specialist EU lawyer

13 Sept 2020: Urgent: Act NOW if you want a free, independent, sovereign United Kingdom
Major campaign launched by 14 Brexit organisations to support the Government’s action

11 Sept 2020: It's the EU that has broken the Good Friday Agreement, not the UK
Facts4EU.Org summarises the uncomfortable truth for the EU and for US Democrats crying foul

10 Sept 2020: Top legal opinion: It’s the EU which has broken international law, not the UK
For months the EU has been in material breach of its obligations under the Withdrawal Treaty - Our summary following the Government's statement in Parliament that the Internal Markets Act breaks international law. (It doesn't.)

18 Jul 2020: “EU breached Withdrawal Agreement, UK must revise or revoke,” say lawyers
How to tear up the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration – the legal case. Our 2-page summary of the 102-page report by the CBP. A must read.

18 Oct 2019: Forget Westminster politics, is Boris’s new EU treaty Brexit? No, it’s not
Layman’s one-page summary of the EU’s 'UK colonisation treaty' agreed by the PM in 2019

Meanwhile, Michael Gove and the Government are going full steam ahead in implementing the Withdrawal Agreement

Despite all the evidence that the Withdrawal Agreement is not fit for purpose, is a disaster for the UK, and that the EU has been in serious breach of it for months, the Government continues to go all out to implement it.

Here is Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, responsible for the Withdrawal Agreement, making a statement to the House of Commons on Monday:-

“I would like to update the House on the Government’s negotiations with the European Union on our future trading relationship and also the work of the UK/EU Joint Committee established under the withdrawal agreement.”
“Our officials have since held numerous sessions and today in London I reiterated the UK’s commitment to upholding all our obligations under both the withdrawal agreement and the Belfast agreement.”
“A lot remains to be resolved before the end of December, but we have made substantial progress on implementation.”
- Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, statement to the House of Commons, 19 Oct 2020

The Government has ignored all the evidence above that we and others have presented during the past year and – regardless of any trade deal – clearly continues to be fully committed to the Withdrawal Agreement. Mr Gove even sounds enthusiastic about it.

Observations

It is a fact that the type of Brexit we achieve involves legal texts. It is equally a fact that politics very often trumps the legal texts – or at least how they are interpreted.

In the EU’s case, for example, its European Court of Justice which rules over everything is one of the most political courts in the world. Judgements so often seem to be made on the basis of what would advance the cause of EU federalism and the creation of one homogeneous superstate. Year after year the judges have extended their sphere of influence to the point where the ECJ (CJEU) is unrecognisable from its original state when created. It now makes case law which dominates UK law, without a British MP or even an EU27 MEP in sight.

Background

In light of the speed of developments between the UK and EU negotiators in this last week, readers asked us if we could bring together in one place some of the information we have published on the Withdrawal Agreement & Political Declaration.

The possibility of a UK-EU trade deal is one thing, and a tariff-free deal with no strings attached is certainly a desirable outcome even if we always predicted that the EU would never allow this for ideological reasons. Failing that, a ‘SuperCanada’ deal would have been acceptable. However that is not enough.

How does all this affect Brexit?

When it comes to Brexit, the public has received limited information about the legal niceties. These popped up briefly the other day over the Internal Markets Bill, mostly because the pro-Remain media saw this as an opportunity to attack Brexit once again. Aside from that, however, the basic legal framework of Brexit as proposed is a mystery to most people.

Most people assume that the United Kingdom will be a fully free, independent, and sovereign country again from 31 December 2020. Sadly this is not destined to be the case under the Government’s current policies.

In a great number of articles, some of which are linked to above, Brexit Facts4EU.Org has tried to explain the importance of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration for the future freedom of our country.

We very much hope that MPs and a large number of the public will consider this summarised evidence, and pressure the Government to act to rescind the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration before it is too late. We haven’t waited four and a half years to remain under the legal framework of the EU.

We stand ready to assist any MP or journalist who requires further information.

Finally, we hate to ask, but we continue to need your help to see this thing through. If you have not already donated towards our seven day-a-week work, could you please consider doing this now? It only takes a couple of minutes and it’s quick, secure, and confidential. The links to do this are below this article. You will then receive a warm and friendly thank you email from a member of our team.

[ Sources: See individual articles linked to above ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sat 24 Oct 2020

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Reader Comments 13

1. Rodney Ilott , Saturday, October 24, 2020, 06:43:

Boris his brexit means ruled by Europe’s laws and rules,The truth always comes out unless of course it is censored.🤣🤣

2. Sydney Ashurst , Saturday, October 24, 2020, 07:58:

I think Charles Moore sums it up.
It is not wrong to search for a deal. Given the way politics works, however, it feels as though the pressure to agree something is stronger than the pressure to get that something right. If the EU – especially the French – sense this, that something will get worse for Britain. Then “success” on the day will bring failure later, as has happened time and again under every previous British prime minister since we joined. Inevitably, the EU will exact a price if we make a clear break, but the price if we do not will be much, much higher.

3. nenryte , Saturday, October 24, 2020, 08:05:

Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May and Johnson: public servants?

4. Patriot Brexiteer , Saturday, October 24, 2020, 08:20:

Johnson and Tories to oblivion, UK demise. Civil war? on streets. Is this the reality that Johnson and Gove don’t get with their power blinkered version of Brexit ? They need to wake up because the Red Wall will not accept surrender by appeasement. So far Leave voters, unlike ranting whining Remainers, have been quiet respectful and patient. But that will disappear if we are robbed of our democratic decision.

5. Tracey , Saturday, October 24, 2020, 10:17:

4 - Totally agree
I have never been a political person, I had never even voted before the EU referendum. I saw this as a chance for my one little vote to actually count for a change. Now after over 4 years of duplicity and vile rhetoric from media, politicians and the everyday remainers, for freedom for the UK to be given away to a foreign power anyway - under the guise of the WA I feel sick to my stomach. I cannot believe the stupidity of Government to allow the WA to stand. I read the WA when it came out and could not believe what they were signing up to - I am not a lawyer - the only qualification I needed to know it was pure capitulation was that I am able to read. I really hope and pray that the Government are going to rescind the WA. I did not vote Brexit for this farce. I believe the leaflet that Cameron spent £9 million on stated - we would be out of EU, SM, CU and out from under ECJ. That is my idea of Brexit and also what was promised before the vote.
Now PLEASE for the sake of my sanity - just do what was promised.

6. Eleanor Baxter , Saturday, October 24, 2020, 10:52:

The WA must be scrapped. The EU have already demonstrated that they signed it in bad faith and had no intentions of upholding any part of it they were required to. Therefore we are no longer under any obligation to uphold it either! That's why we should openly rip it up to show the EU we have as much contempt for them as they have for us!

7. Diane , Saturday, October 24, 2020, 11:13:

Yes it is all truly sickening (5) Tracey - to be at the stage we are at, yet again. The PM and the party were under immense pressure & last minute time constraints at the time of the WA signing and so it became another case of can kicking, rushing things through & no doubt hoping for the best, short term measures with long term consequences with the unforgiveable submission and rot set in from the start by the May administration et al as we all know. Taken for fools. There is a headline in the Telegraph today, have not read the article yet but it reads: ' The PM must avoid a deal which looks like success on the day but brings failure later ' Too right ! Follows Anne Widdecombe's comment a couple of weeks back ' Don't let Covid be the excuse for useless ' - And here we are again, PM & party under pressure, time is tight, EU deadline for any ratification imminent and the veiled threats continue conveniently interspersed with positive murmurings from our EU & UK leaders as we are, also conveniently, distracted by the continuing Covid crisis. Conservative Woman's article today worth a read too ' Why we should ignore the EU's sabre rattling on Northern Ireland '

8. James Bertram , Saturday, October 24, 2020, 15:05:

Email to my Guildford MP:
Dear Angela Richardson,
Once again the Tory Party is intent on selling the country out.
We must rip up the disgraceful WA & PD [it should never have been agreed to in the first place].
We must leave the EU at the end of the year on WTO terms; then negotiate a FTA without further political duress.
The BrexitFacts4EU website provides a good summary of the legal implications of the WA & PD.
https://facts4eu.org/news/2...
Please research this material thoroughly. There is no excuse not to know about the disastrous path your rotten traitorous government intends to take us down.
Yours sincerely,
JB.

9. Ross , Sunday, October 25, 2020, 01:38:

I'm not in the UK but I understand there are big protests in London over the lockdowns. While understand and agree with the protests, is this another Remainer's way of under mining Boris and creating havoc so he is either kicked out (along with their enemy Cummings) or Boris just gives in ?

10. Jon, Wales , Sunday, October 25, 2020, 05:51:

Off-topic (sorry)!
Perhaps it's time once again The Brexit Party should be up and running to wake up tory MPs?
I would also encourage LBC to again offer Nigel Farage his phone-in programme? I stopped listening to LBC [by choice] when Nigel left.

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