The comments made by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, on 24 December 2020.
The UK remains a trusted partner. We will stand shoulder to shoulder to deliver on our common global goals.
But now let’s turn the page and look to the future.
To all Europeans I say: it is time to leave Brexit behind.
Our future is made in Europe.
The comments made by Alister Jack, the Secretary of State for Scotland, on 28 December 2020.
We have secured a historic Free Trade deal with the EU that delivers for Scotland and the whole of the UK. This is a deep and wide-ranging deal, covering trade, security, travel, transport, energy, health and social security.
As Parliament prepares to vote on the deal this week, I urge all Scottish MPs to give it their wholehearted support.
Outside the EU, the UK can sign our own trade deals around the world, bringing new opportunities for exporters and some of Scotland’s most iconic products.
For our farmers, the deal avoids tariffs on their world-beating Scotch lamb and beef.
For our fishermen and coastal communities, the deal delivers what we promised.
We are regaining control of our waters, we are restoring our status as an independent coastal state and, even during the five year adjustment period, there will be a big overall increase in our share of the catch in our waters.
As we leave the Common Fisheries Policy, our fishermen will also enjoy near-exclusive access to inshore waters up to the historic 12 mile limit.
The deal is good news for Scotland and I believe it is now time to move on from the Brexit debate and join forces in embracing our exciting future. Whether Leaver or Remainer in 2016 we need to come to together to make the most of our new opportunities.
The people of Scotland will expect their MPs to do the right thing on Wednesday and vote for the deal. They will not easily forgive those who reject this Free Trade Agreement or throw their weight behind a no deal Brexit.
The comments made by Michel Barnier, the European Commission’s Chief Negotiator on Brexit, on 24 December 2020.
The clock is no longer ticking.
After 4.5 years of collective effort and #EU unity:
To preserve peace on the island of Ireland. To protect citizens and the Single Market. To build a new partnership with the UK.
Thank you all.
The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 24 December 2020.
As leader of the Labour Party, I have urged the Government to get on with negotiating the Brexit deal that it promised.
I wanted the talks to succeed.
I did so because a deal is in the national interest.
Businesses need a deal.
Working people need a deal.
Families need a deal.
The fact that the Government was even considering no deal – during a global pandemic – was grossly irresponsible.
After months of negotiations, a deal has now been agreed.
The choice facing Parliament – the choice facing Labour – is now whether to accept that deal or reject it.
The deal is a thin agreement.
It does not provide adequate protections for British manufacturing.
Our financial services.
Creative industries.
Or workplace rights.
It is not the deal the government promised.
Far from it.
And there are serious questions about the Government’s preparedness for the new arrangements.
Leaving everything to the last minute has made it even more difficult for businesses to be ready.
A better deal could have been negotiated.
But I accept that option has now gone.
The chance for renegotiation is over.
There are just two paths now left for our country.
To move forward with a deal.
Or without one.
No deal is simply not an option.
The social, economic and political consequences would be devastating.
Jobs would be put at risk.
Businesses would collapse.
Investment would dry up.
Our national security would be threatened.
The disruption we have seen at the Port of Dover in recent days would be the tip of the iceberg.
And the cumulative effect – on top of the worst recession of any major economy – would be unimaginable.
Labour is against no deal.
Firmly and absolutely.
And the British people would never forgive us if we enabled a no deal outcome.
There are some that argue Labour should be neutral on this issue.
To abstain.
I do not agree.
Leadership is about taking the tough decisions in the national interest.
It is about being a serious, responsible opposition.
A government-in-waiting.
This is the deal Labour will inherit in 2024.
It is something we will build on compared to the chaos of no deal.
The public would expect a labour government to make it work.
And the EU would expect us to make it work.
And to use it to protect our shared interests.
Including the peace process in Northern Ireland.
At a moment of such national significance, it is not credible for Labour to be on the side lines.
That is why I can say today that when this deal comes before Parliament, Labour will accept it and vote for it.
But let me be absolutely clear – and say directly to the Government – up against no deal, we accept this deal, but the consequences of it are yours.
And yours alone.
We will hold you to account for it
Every second you are in power.
For the promises you have made.
And the promises you break.
No longer can you blame somebody else.
Responsibility for this deal – lies squarely at the door of Number 10.
I want to address the British people directly.
I know how tired you are of Brexit.
The endless negotiations.
And political squabbles.
You want to move on.
You want politicians in Westminster talking about the things that matter to you and your family.
Securing our economy.
Protecting our NHS.
And rebuilding our country.
Those are my priorities.
We are a great country.
We have done extraordinary things.
Our NHS is the envy of the world.
British scientists were among the first to discover a coronavirus vaccine.
I want to be Prime Minister because I believe a better future is possible for our country.
That we can be even greater than we are today.
That we can achieve so much more.
That we can stand proud on the world stage.
And that we can make Britain the best place to grow up in and the best place to grow old in.
That is the change I believe in.
That is the change I want.
And with Labour under new leadership that is the change we offer.
Thank you.
The statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 24 December 2020.
It is four and a half years since the British people voted to take back control of their money, their borders, their laws, and their waters and to leave the European Union.
And earlier this year we fulfilled that promise and we left on Jan 31 with that oven-ready deal.
Since that time we have been getting on with our agenda.
Enacting the points based immigration system that you voted for and that will come into force on Jan 1.
And doing free trade deals with 58 countries around the world.
And preparing the new relationship with the EU.
And there have been plenty of people who have told us that the challenges of the Covid pandemic have made this work impossible.
And that we should extend the transition period.
And incur yet more delay.
And I rejected that approach precisely because beating Covid is our number one national priority and I wanted to end any extra uncertainty and to give this country the best possible chance of bouncing back strongly next year.
And so I am very pleased that this afternoon that we have completed the biggest trade deal yet, worth £660 billion.
A comprehensive Canada style free trade deal between the UK and the EU, a deal that will protect jobs across this country.
A deal that will allow UK goods and components to be sold without tariffs and without quotas in the EU market.
A deal which will if anything should allow our companies and our exporters to do even more business with our European friends.
And yet which achieves something that the people of this country instinctively knew was doable.
But which they were told was impossible.
We have taken back control of laws and our destiny.
We have taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation.
In a way that is complete and unfettered.
From Jan 1 we are outside the customs union, and outside the single market.
British laws will be made solely by the British Parliament.
Interpreted by UK judges sitting in UK courts.
And the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice will come to an end.
We will be able to set our own standards, to innovate in the way that we want, to originate new frameworks for the sectors in which this country leads the world, from biosciences to financial services, artificial intelligence and beyond.
We will be able to decide how and where we are going to stimulate new jobs and new hope.
With freeports and new green industrial zones.
We will be able to cherish our landscape and our environment in the way we choose.
Backing our farmers and backing British food and agricultural production.
And for the first time since 1973 we will be an independent coastal state with full control of our waters with the UK’s share of fish in our waters rising substantially from roughly half today to closer to 2/3 in five and a half years’ time after which there is no theoretical limit beyond those placed by science or conservation on the quantity of our own fish that we can fish in our waters.
And to get ready for that moment those fishing communities we will be helped with a big £100m programme to modernise their fleets and the fish processing industry.
And I want to stress that although of course the arguments with our European friends and partners were sometimes fierce this is, I believe a good deal for the whole of Europe and for our friends and partners as well.
Because it will not be a bad thing for the EU to have a prosperous and dynamic and contented UK on your doorstep.
And it will be a good thing – it will drive jobs and prosperity across the whole continent.
And I don’t think it will be a bad thing if we in the UK do things differently, or a take a different approach to legislation.
Because in so many ways our basic goals are the same.
And in the context of this giant free trade zone that we’re jointly creating the stimulus of regulatory competition will I think benefit us both.
And if one side believes it is somehow being unfairly undercut by the other, then subject to independent third party arbitration and provided the measures are proportionate, we can either of us decide – as sovereign equals – to protect our consumers.
But this treaty explicitly envisages that such action should only happen infrequently and the concepts of uniformity and harmonisation are banished in favour of mutual respect and mutual recognition and free trade.
And for squaring that circle, for finding the philosopher’s stone that’s enabled us to do this I want to thank President von der Leyen of the European Commission and our brilliant negotiators led by Lord Frost and Michel Barnier, on the EU side Stephanie Rousseau as well as Oliver Lewis, Tim Barrow, Lindsay Appleby and many others.
Their work will be available for scrutiny, followed by a parliamentary vote I hope on Dec 30.
This agreement, this deal above all means certainty.
It means certainty for the aviation industry and the hauliers who have suffered so much in the Covid pandemic.
It means certainty for the police and the border forces and the security services and all those that we rely on across Europe to keep us safe.
It means certainty for our scientists who will be able to continue to work together on great collective projects.
Because although we want the UK to be a science superpower, we also want to be a collaborative science superpower.
And above all it means certainty for business from financial services to our world-leading manufacturers – our car industry – certainty for those working in high skilled jobs in firms and factories across the whole country.
Because there will be no palisade of tariffs on Jan 1.
And there will be no non-tariff barriers to trade.
And instead there will be a giant free trade zone of which we will at once be a member.
And at the same time be able to do our own free trade deals as one UK, whole and entire, England, NI, Scotland and Wales together.
And I should stress this deal was done by a huge negotiating team from every part of the UK, and it will benefit every part of our United Kingdom, helping to unite and level up across the country.
And so I say again directly to our EU friends and partners, I think this deal means a new stability and a new certainty in what has sometimes been a fractious and difficult relationship.
We will be your friend, your ally, your supporter and indeed – never let it be forgotten – your number one market.
Because although we have left the EU this country will remain culturally, emotionally, historically, strategically and geologically attached to Europe, not least through the four million EU nationals who have requested to settle in the UK over the last four years and who make an enormous contribution to our country and to our lives.
And I say to all of you at home.
At the end of this toughest of years.
That our focus in the weeks ahead is of course on defeating the pandemic.
And on beating coronavirus and rebuilding our economy.
And delivering jobs across the country.
And I am utterly confident that we can and will do it.
By today we have vaccinated almost 800,000 people and we have also today resolved a question that has bedevilled our politics for decades.
And it is up to us all together.
As a newly and truly independent nation.
To realise the immensity of this moment and to make the most of it.
Happy Christmas to you all.
That’s the good news from Brussels – now for the sprouts.
The comments made by Damian Hinds on 24 December 2020.
Much needed good news. Many hurdles have been overcome, and the UK requirements delivered on. Very welcome for our farmers as for so many other sectors. Congrats and commends to the PM and the negotiating teams.
The comments made by Theresa May, the former Prime Minister, on 24 December 2020.
Very welcome news that the UK and EU have reached agreement on the terms of a deal – one that provides confidence to business and helps keep trade flowing. Looking forward to seeing the detail in the coming days.
The comments made by Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 24 December 2020.
Boris Johnson has secured a historic deal with the EU that takes back control over our laws, borders, money, fish & trade, with a 0-tariff, 0-quota deal. 2021 can be a time for globally outward and forward looking UK.
The comments made by James Brokenshire on 24 December 2020.
Fantastic news that the Brexit deal is done. The biggest bilateral trade deal signed by either side based on zero tariffs and zero quotas. Plus a strong continuing partnership on security cooperation to help keep us all safe.
The comments made by Anna Soubry on 24 December 2020.
Never before has a country so spectacularly shot its self in the foot. We are no longer “Great” Britain or a United Kingdom. Leaving the European Union, the single market and customs union diminishes our country, will make us all a little poorer and narrow our horizons.