Apparently, nobody even read it before it was distributed.
Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, was forced to suspend proceedings while copies of the Brexit white paper were chaotically being handed out in the UK Parliament on Thursday.
“Order, order. Can I say to the Secretary of State that it would be very unseemly, discourteous to him, and to the members of the House, for his statement to be delivered while copies are being distributed. I will therefore suspend the sitting of the House for five minutes. It is most regrettable that this situation has arisen but I am dealing in a way that’s constructive with what has arisen,” he said.
A definite baptism of fire then for the new Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab.
As you can see in the footage below, copies of the Brexit white paper are frantically being flung around to the various MPs in attendance to discuss.
Speaker John Bercow is forced to suspend proceedings as chaos ensues while copies of the Brexit white paper are tossed around the House pic.twitter.com/A8A0xfpphV
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 12, 2018
So Dominic Raab’s first Commons outing as Brexit Secretary is going well – Dexeu didn’t give MPs copy of the Brexit white paper in advance, they’re unhappy, Speaker has just suspended the sitting ??♀️
— Jane Merrick (@janemerrick23) July 12, 2018
MPs rushing into the Commons with cardboard boxes of the Brexit White Paper. So ridiculous that this has happened. MPs now have five minutes to read it so they can actually ask new Brexit Sec Dominic Raab informed questions. pic.twitter.com/gnNM0LgF1C
— Kate Proctor (@KateProctorES) July 12, 2018
Watch. The biggest political shambles of our age. Theresa May's MPs firing copies of the Brexit White Paper around the parliament chamber because no one has had the chance to read it. 2 years later & the paper is still warm from the printer. She has to go. pic.twitter.com/R3KYDXaisv
— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) July 12, 2018
With regard to the contents of this 98-page document, the white paper reaffirms Britain’s plan to remain tied to the EU’s rules and policies that shape the Single Market.
Essentially, it reiterates last week’s wish for a soft-Brexit that proposes the creation of a free trade area for goods.
Contained in the document is a plan to create a customs mechanism that’s designed to avoid customs checks – an important point regarding the Irish border.
The paper also proposes that businesses should be able to move “their talented people” from the UK to the European Union – and vice versa – after Brexit.
The document also says that the government is prepared to allow EU citizens to travel freely without a visa in the UK but only for the purposes of tourism, temporary work and academia.
With regards to the issue of free movement, here’s what it states: “the UK’s future economic partnership should therefore provide reciprocal arrangements, consistent with the ending of free movement”, including measures that “support businesses to provide services and to move their talented people.”
Conservative MP and staunch Brexiteer, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has described the white paper as, “the greatest vassalage since King John paid homage to Phillip II at Le Goulet in 1200.”
As for the Irish position, the government are still looking to secure a legally operable backstop to protect the Irish border in the event that negotiations on this white paper collapse.
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