I am back in the UK and in Westminster ready for the start of the second half of this first term of 2016. It is set to be a hectic start. Without doubt there will be a statement from the Prime Minister on his so called ‘deal’ on our membership of the EU. Business will start with questions to the Home Secretary and unless there are any urgent questions granted by the Speaker we should move on to the PM’s statement.
It is obviously got d news for the leave campaign that Boris Johnson the Mayor of London is going to campaign to leave. I have already heard his Daily Telegraph column criticised for referring to a new relationship with EU suggesting that if we leave we simply use the referendum result to re-negotiate our terms of membership. I do not think he means that. By definition, if the UK votes to leave then we will have a new relationship with our friends in the rest of Europe. We will still want to buy their goods. I think we can be sure they will still want the sell their goods to us. Any problems would only come from the EU wanting to penalise the UK somehow for having the audacity to want to control our own affairs.
The main business in the Commons is actually the Second Reading of the Bill which implements the latest agreement in Northern Ireland, I think it is a safe bet this will be overshadowed by the EU statement!
David Nuttall 