Wednesday, April 05, 2017
Does Brexit mean a lowering of our standards abroad?
The Brexiteers have been very clear that once we leave the EU then the UK is going to have to get out and negotiate a lot of trade deals to make up for the lost business. Whether those deals will compensate us for what we have lost is a moot point, but still it is nice to see Ministers out and about trying to put their words into action. Or is it?
According to the Guardian, UK Trade Minister, Liam Fox has been in the Philippines, where he has proclaimed that the UK has “shared values” with Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines leader whose war on drugs has killed 7,000 people.
Theresa May is in Saudi Arabia where she has refused to criticise the government’s bombardment of Yemen, which is estimated to have killed more than 10,000 civilians and displaced more than 3 million people.
Harriet Harman, the Labour MP who chairs parliament’s joint committee on human rights, is quite right when she says that the government should never sacrifice core British principles when seeking new relationships. “There is a real danger that in our desperation to conclude trade deals respect for human rights, which is in every EU contract, will just go out of the window,” she told the Guardian. “The government must not let that happen.”
Liam Fox and Theresa May may have found shared values with these regimes but they should not impose that burden on the rest of us. In this case it really is 'Not in my name'.
According to the Guardian, UK Trade Minister, Liam Fox has been in the Philippines, where he has proclaimed that the UK has “shared values” with Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines leader whose war on drugs has killed 7,000 people.
Theresa May is in Saudi Arabia where she has refused to criticise the government’s bombardment of Yemen, which is estimated to have killed more than 10,000 civilians and displaced more than 3 million people.
Harriet Harman, the Labour MP who chairs parliament’s joint committee on human rights, is quite right when she says that the government should never sacrifice core British principles when seeking new relationships. “There is a real danger that in our desperation to conclude trade deals respect for human rights, which is in every EU contract, will just go out of the window,” she told the Guardian. “The government must not let that happen.”
Liam Fox and Theresa May may have found shared values with these regimes but they should not impose that burden on the rest of us. In this case it really is 'Not in my name'.
Comments:
<< Home
The trips abroad , to me , smack of desperation for deals to be made at any cost before Brexit is completed.Likewise Hammond's trip to India. I believe India will want its nationals to be able to come and go as they please in any deal made. If so so much for keeping immigration under control. Lately I do not hear much talk of this topic (.cos reducing the flow is impossible if workers are needed?) I also believe that the EU has been chasing a deal with India for a few years and has still not got one. Implies to me that the UK will not get one either unless we offer them the country on a plate! All other countries have us over a barrel for they know how desperate the Government are.
Post a Comment
<< Home
