Express & Star

LETTER: No Deal is not the ‘win-win’ solution we should seek

A reader discusses Brexit and the price of leaving the EU with no deal in place.

Published
Brexit, flags of the United Kingdom and the European Union on wooden background with legs and shoes

One of your correspondents recently said, about the negotiations with the EU, that we have a “no deal ace” in our pocket. Sounds reassuring, doesn’t it?

Hmm.

First, why are none of the remaining 27 EU members thinking of leaving the EU? Not even one of them?

Second, if “no deal” is such a fantastic card to play, why is the UK Government trying to get a deal? Clearly because a deal would be better for the UK economy.

So if a deal is better for the UK, why is no deal an ace? Because it damages the economy of the EU.

Right, so this ace damages the economy of both ourselves and our 27 nearest neighbours. And “damaging the economy” hurts ordinary people- lost jobs, lost income, lost public services. A lose-lose situation for ordinary people here, and ordinary people like you and me in the rest of Europe.

Don’t competent negotiators usually aim for a win-win situation?

Maybe it’s just a threat. Maybe the Government doesn’t intend to play this ace? But every parent knows that in a negotiation, you have to be prepared to carry out any threat you make.

Is damaging our 27 nearest neighbours, as well as ourselves, the best outcome that Brexit can offer?

Surely we can do better by cooperation than by putting ourselves at loggerheads with the neighbours?

Is Brexit going to turn the UK into the pariah state of Europe- the North Korea of the European continent?

J King, Walsall

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