Supporting the Brexit deal is the first stage of the rebuilding process

Editorial: The agreement is far from desirable, but it’s time to start repairing our relationship with the EU

(PA)

The House of Commons votes on Wednesday on the trade agreement with the European Union. It will be a challenge for all parties. The bill will inevitably be passed with a huge majority; that is not an issue. It will be supported by the government, of course, and with its majority of 80 that would of itself be sufficient to ensure it passes into law. Some small numbers of the “Spartans”, that clutch of Conservative MPs who have fought against any deal with Europe, may rebel. But their stance would be symbolic and it would say more about them than about the agreement.

There will be more cohesive opposition from the Scottish National Party, who maintain their position that the entire project to leave the EU is a grave error. They have spoken strongly against the fishing element of the agreement, arguing that EU fleets will have too much access to Scottish waters. There is an obvious inconsistency here: were the UK to have remained a member, EU ships would not have lost any access at all. However, politics is not about logic; it is about emotion.  

The Northern Irish parties – the DUP, the Alliance Party and the SDLP – have also signalled that they will vote against. Their arguments for doing so differ, with the DUP’s Brexit spokesperson, Sammy Wilson, insisting that they will vote against “as a point of principle and not because we supported a no deal option”.