Another big Johnson lie. He says in his manifesto we won’t be a rule-taker, but has agreed the opposite in the draft deal he plans to nail down with the EU by end of next year. Both can't be correct. (thread) 1/
The manifesto is categorical: “There will be no political alignment with the EU” (See page 5). If that’s not supposed to mean no regulatory alignment, what on earth does it mean? 2/
But Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement turns Northern Ireland into what he used to term an "EU colony” - and his political declaration sketching out our future relationship is also a rule-taker’s charter. 3/
True, the political declaration isn't legally binding. But Gove yesterday boasted on BBC Today that it “sets out the broad structure of the agreement that we’d want” - and that's why Johnson would be able to negotiate a deal with the EU in record time. 4/
Political declaration doesn't use the phrase “regulatory alignment”. This pig of a deal has been covered in lashings of lipstick. It uses code words such as “compatible” regulation, “level playing field”, “equivalence”, existing high “standards” and regulatory “cooperation”. 5/
PM could say cooperation doesn't mean we follow EU rules. It could mean they follow ours. Pull the other one. Haven’t we twigged that we need the EU more than it needs us because its economy is six times as big? 6/
Political declaration (PD) commits us to a “level playing field” to ensure fair competition. We’ll uphold EU’s current standards in the areas of “state aid, competition, social and employment standards, environment, climate change, and relevant tax matters.” (Paragraph 77). 7/
PM has promised to try and reach agreement on fisheries by next July including, “inter alia, access to waters and quota shares”. Access to waters? Quota shares? That sounds awfully like abiding by the Common Fisheries Policy, but without making the rules. (Paragraph 73). 8/
Border checks could become particularly intrusive unless we follow EU rules. Johnson has accepted that the extent of our “commitments on customs and regulatory cooperation would be taken into account in the application of related checks and controls”. (Paragraph 26) 9/
PM has agreed to regulatory approaches that are “compatible to the extent possible” for goods (paragraph 23) and for services (Paragraph 31). 10/
Financial services is our largest industry, contributing £75 billion a year in tax revenue. Johnson accepts that its access to the EU market will depend on maintaining “equivalent” regulation. (Paragraph 36). 11/
Modern economies can’t survive without the free flow of data. But for the UK to receive data from the EU, the European Commission has to recognise that our data protection standards provide an “adequate level of protection”. (Paragraph 9). 12/
PM has agreed to explore cooperation with EU bodies such as the European Medicines Agency, the European Chemicals Agency, and the European Aviation Safety Agency. (Paragraph 23). 13/
The political declaration promises a wide-ranging nuclear cooperation agreement with Euratom on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, underpinned by “existing high standards” of nuclear safety. (Paragraph 66). 14/
Most EU’s rules are pretty good. After all, we spent over 40 years helping to write them. And why would we want low standards on nuclear safety, the environment, state aid and so forth? 15/
But if we quit, we will move from being a rule-maker to a rule-taker - and we still won’t get anything like the access we currently get to the lucrative EU market. Far better to kick Johnson out of Downing Street, hold a new referendum and stay in the EU. 16/
Johnson is running up the white flag as he vows to take control. Here's a piece exposing the lie in all its detail. infacts.org/johnson-runs-u…
