Why I’m backing the PM’s plan to break the logjam over Brexit

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/05/brexit-boris-johnson-plan-eu-nicky-morgan-comment

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If I’ve learned anything in the past three years, it is that many MPs seem to have forgotten that “politics is the art of the possible”.

I know some people may have been surprised when I took a role in Boris Johnson’s cabinet, but what the critics miss is that there is nothing ultimately to be gained for our country or our constituents in any of us remaining stuck in our views from three years ago. It has been clear for months that the current Brexit situation simply cannot continue and that an end to this first phase must be found.

For that reason, I can support the prime minister’s clear view that we must leave the European Union on 31 October – with a deal or without one.

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I voted Remain, but I also believe in democracy. The 2016 referendum was the largest popular vote in the UK’s history and it cannot be ignored. Three years on from the result and businesses and the public are fed up, not just with the lack of certainty but with MPs, and rightly so. They want us to get Brexit done so we can move on to those issues at home that they care much more about – I share that frustration.

Three times the previous deal did not get through parliament and the only option that ever passed the house was the so-called Brady amendment, the essence of which was to get rid of the backstop in favour of alternative arrangements.

Before I joined the government, I spent months working as part of Prosperity UK’s Commission on alternative arrangements to the Irish backstop. This work convinced me that it is possible to utilise customs declarations and arrangements, such as trusted trader schemes, that do not undermine peace and stability on the island of Ireland and avoid any need for a hard border.

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The whole government, from the prime minister down, have a clear objective – we want to leave with a deal. That is why all colleagues should be encouraged by the prime minister’s new constructive and reasonable proposals.

The government is determined to sustain the Good Friday Agreement and the new proposals respect the peace process, as well as protecting the regulations that Northern Ireland farmers and businesses on both sides of the border need. We have proposed the potential creation of a regulatory zone on the island of Ireland covering all goods. The zone would eliminate all regulatory checks for trade in goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland and crucially, unlike the so-called backstop, this regulatory zone would be sustained only with the consent of the people of Northern Ireland.

Historically people have voiced outrage at a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and rightly so, but the prime minister has been clear that there will be absolutely no need for checks or infrastructure, at or near the border.

Instead, all customs checks between Northern Ireland and Ireland would take place either electronically or, in the small number of cases where physical checks would be necessary, at traders’ premises or other points in the supply chain. Northern Ireland will be completely part of the UK customs territory and not the EU customs union.

This demonstrates a sensible and hugely workable proposal that should unite MPs from across the House.

I hope the EU will come to the table in the same spirit of compromise, but if not ministers and departments have spent all summer increasing preparations to ensure the UK is properly ready for leaving without a deal on 31 October.

Sadly, the reaction from Jeremy Corbyn and some opposition MPs demonstrates that they are not interested in a deal and they simply want to put a stop to Brexit. I don’t believe they speak for a majority of MPs or the country.

I urge colleagues from across the house to come together in the national interest and look at these proposals seriously. The same applies to the EU – it needs to look seriously at this proposal, talk to us, and negotiate a deal that works. This is the best chance we have to break the deadlock and leave with a fair and reasonable deal.

The British public wants to move on. Parliament needs to move on, so let’s all unite in the national interest and get Brexit done, so we can bring the country back together and focus on the priorities people care about.

• Nicky Morgan is Conservative MP for Loughborough and the culture, media and sport secretary