Rt Hon Sir David Evennett, MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, has expressed his “strong support” for the Prime Minister’s new proposals on Brexit.
The new proposals focus on five main principles:
- The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement must be respected and the peace process protected.
- UK/Ireland cooperation will continue and there must be no checks at or near the Northern Ireland border. This means that there must be a special arrangement for Northern Ireland to provide flexibility for all parties to deal with the land border between the UK and EU.
- To ensure the integrity of the EU’s Single Market, there will be an all-island regulatory zone in Ireland covering sanitary and phytosanitary and agrifood as well as manufacturing goods.
- The zone must depend on the democratic consent of those affected – the people of Northern Ireland through the Assembly and Executive.
- To maintain the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland must remain part of the UK customs territory. The UK will not be part of a customs union with the EU, but there will be sensible cooperation on customs between the UK and EU to avoid checks at the border.
The Prime Minister will now speak to key leaders to work out a detailed legal treaty before the UK leaves the EU on 31 October.
Sir David commented: “I welcome and strongly support the Prime Minister’s sensible and reasonable proposals and compromises. These proposals offer a real chance for a deal with the EU while respecting the Referendum result of 2016.
“The UK must leave the EU at the end of this month and we now need to see compromise on all sides now to ensure we leave with a deal”.
