What the 2019 Conservative manifesto says about Brexit

What the 2019 Conservative manifesto says about Brexit

The Conservatives’ General Election 2019 manifesto, “Get Brexit Done and unleash Britain’s Potential” has been published today, and as expected, Brexit is a main feature, with an emphasis on what can be achieved in other domestic policy areas, once the UK has left the European Union.

The key line of the Conservatives’ manifesto on Brexit is:

“Our priority as Conservatives is to get Brexit done – so that we can unleash the potential of this great country. So that we can push past the obstacles that other parties have put in our country’s way. So that we can deliver on the people’s decision in 2016 and use our new post-Brexit freedoms to transform the UK for the better by focusing on your priorities. If we elect a majority of Conservative MPs to Parliament, we will start putting our deal through Parliament before Christmas and we will leave the European Union in January.”

The document states that if the Conservatives win a working majority on the 12th December, they will immediately put the Prime Minister’s deal back to Parliament, in order to get the process of the UK leaving the EU going again quickly, and ensure that the UK leaves in January 2020.

The benefits of the deal are set out as below:

  • “A path to a new free trade agreement with the EU”
  • “UK out of the single market”
  • “Out of any form of customs union”
  • “End the role of the European Court of Justice”

And perhaps most crucially for Brexiteers, the manifesto includes this commitment:

“There will be no political alignment with the EU.”

And the manifesto outlines the below priorities for the future relationship:

  • “Take back control of our laws”
  • “Take back control of our money”
  • “Control our own trade policy”
  • “Introduce an Australian-style points-based immigration system”
  • “Raise standards in areas like workers’ rights, animal welfare, agriculture and the environment”
  • “Ensure we are in full control of our fishing waters”

And on the future trade negotiations, the document states that a Conservative government will:

…negotiate a trade agreement next year – one that will strengthen our Union – and we will not extend the implementation period beyond December 2020. In parallel, we will legislate to ensure high standards of workers’ rights, environmental protection and consumer rights.”