Letter: ‘Will of the People’ wants Britain to stay in the Customs Union
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (R) and British Prime Minister Theresa May. (Photograph: Xinhua/The European Union) - Credit: Xinhua News Agency/PA Images
The will of the people want to stay within the Customs Union with the EU, argues Paul Smith.
On last week's Question Time, Martin Lewis, the undisputed master of figures and logic, made a crucial point on an imaginary referendum about staying in the customs union: 'One would assume most Remainers were in favour of the customs union, and it is not unfair to assume that some Leavers are in favour of the customs union, so on that particular vote, it may well have been a majority for a customs union.'
Let's add this powerful line of reasoning to our armoury of arguments to counter the current Brextremists' claim: that, in the referendum, each and every Leaver wanted out of the
customs union. Plainly, this is wishful thinking.
In addition, many of those Leavers were clear on one point: they had voted out because they wished the EU had remained the basic common market of 1973. Well, it just so happens that the closest to this old common market is the present customs union.
You may also want to watch:
• Send your letters for publication to letters@theneweuropean.co.uk
Most Read
- 1 Empty shelves are partly down to Brexit - but Leavers won't admit it
- 2 The Spanish village with the mythical blue lagoon
- 3 Has something shifted in sado-populist Britain?
- 4 Priti Patel - the poster girl for our poisonous politics
- 5 A very nearly enchanted evening
- 6 Boris Johnson enjoys splendid isolation
- 7 Ed Vaizey overtakes Paul Dacre in the Ofcom race
- 8 Why Bristol is the street art city
- 9 My favourite new Freedom is avoiding selfish anti-maskers
- 10 Would Javid have renamed ICU wards 'Drama Queen Zones'?
MORE: Subscribe to The New European for six weeks for just £1
MORE: Events - How you can help the grassroots anti-Brexit campaigns
MORE: Traitors? No, the Lords are the voice of reason on Brexit
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
