Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Thursday 14th May 2020

On 31 January 2020 the United Kingdom left the EU. On 31 December 2020, at the end of the transition period, the UK will fully recover its economic and political independence.

The UK government has no plans to re-join the EU. Our vision for the UK’s future relationship with the EU is one of sovereign equals, based on free trade and friendly cooperation. This is the vision that was voted for by the British people in the 2019 General Election and the 2016 EU Referendum. It is a vision that is fully compatible with the political declaration agreed with the EU last year and is based on the principles of precedent and reciprocity.

We have made clear that we still see the EU as our neighbours and friends, and want a close relationship with them based on the EU’s existing relationships with other countries around the world. But it must be a relationship of sovereign equals.

At the end of this year the process of transition to that relationship will be completed and we will have recovered our economic and political independence, on the basis of the agreement we reached in October 2019 which enabled us to leave the EU on 31 January 2020. The end date of the transition period is enshrined in UK law.

This will enable us to control our own laws and our own trade. Either we will agree with the EU a deal on the lines of the free trade agreement the EU has with Canada, or we will have a trading relationship along the lines of Australia’s, based on the 2019 deal without a further free trade agreement.

We have made clear to the EU that our determination to regain our independence does not reduce our commitment to the highest standards in all areas. No matter what happens, the UK will continue to be a champion of high product standards, human rights and many other important principles. However, the UK cannot accept a relationship that restricts domestic democratic debate or enforces the supremacy of EU law.

After 31 December 2020, we will be outside the Single Market and Customs Union; we will have control of our own trade; we will no longer have to make financial contributions to the EU budget; we will control our own migration policy through an Australian style points-based system; our own laws and courts will be supreme within the UK; we will regain control of UK fishing waters; free our farmers from the bureaucratic CAP; and only our Parliament will have the power to set our taxes.

Cabinet Office

This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300297)