A BREXIT deal was born on Christmas Eve and dutifully packaged by press as the Boris Johnson’s ‘present’ to the nation.
Far from an immaculate conception, the final 1,246-page document was squeezed out after years of fraught negotiations.
Whether you had been left reeling by the constant will there won’t there of the negotiations, or fervently dismissed the risk of no-deal as political pantomime, the news was welcome.
Like a survivor clinging to drift wood the British public have needed this year’s festive respite.
That said the content of the deal is going on the whole unscrutinised.
The timing of the announcement coming as many scrambled to salvage their Christmas after yet another Tory u-turn means letter coverage of substance.
Kier Starmer for his part is being urged to abstain from voting on Brexit trade deal.
He looks certain to push Labour MPs to vote the deal through parliament with little opposition bar risk the toxic issue once again hamstringing the party.
The totality of Johnson’s victory and the timing of it do suggest as some believe the whole sorry saga has been carefully choreographed.
“The deal could have been made months ago,” Dr Alan Wager of the UK in a Changing Europe told Novara Media on the night the deal was announced.
Wager continued: “The sticking points that we had on level playing fields and state aid, fishing and so on could have been solved months ago it was all done to Boris Johnson.”
Play acting or not the Brexit trade deal to be approved by the EU27 within days.
How this agreement impacts upon working class communities on both sides of the Channel will not certainly not be fixed with theatrics.
BREXIT BACK AND BEYOND
The team recently re-examined Brexit in part one of our end of year review, alongside other key issues that have dominated the year.
In the end the deal was struck before incoming US President Joe Biden took office, our editorial from last month examined the impact Biden could have on an incoming US-UK trade deal.
Redaction Politics Podcast Ep. 25 (Pt.1) – Covid, Brexit and George Floyd
With Joe Biden moving Boston and Berlin closer on Brexit, Johnson is going to feel the squeeze
LOOKING FORWARD
We are continuing are tour of 2020’s great politics page-turners with part two of our round up so stay tuned for that.
2020 was Redaction’s first full year, and we’ve brought you exclusive coverage of elections, protests and events from all over the world – but we need your help.
If you’ve enjoyed or benefitted from our work, become a Patron of Redaction now for just 1$ a month. You’ll get this newsletter early, and for 3$ a month, you’ll get exclusive articles, interviews and podcast segments no publicly available.
Click here to support independent journalism when it’s needed most.
Subscribe to stay updated, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Redaction cannot survive without your help. Support us for as little as $1 a month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RedactionPolitics.
Redaction Report 