Peterborough MP excited by Brexit ‘opportunities’ ahead of Commons vote

MPs are set to vote on the deal on Wednesday ahead of the transition arrangement ending on New Year’s Eve.

One of those is Conservative MP for Peterborough Paul Bristow, a committed Brexiteer.

He said: “We have agreed a zero tariff free trade deal which is great news for British families and businesses.

“From January 1, the UK and EU will have a free trade agreement based on zero tariffs and zero quotas.

“We can now take full advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to us as an independent trading nation, striking trade deals with other partners around the world.

“This deal includes a commitment to maintaining high labour, environment and climate standards without giving the EU any say over our rules.

“We will have control of our laws with no role for the European Court of Justice.”

Conservative MP for North West Cambridgeshire Shailesh Vara, who voted Remain but has since pushed hard for Brexit to take place, has not commented on the deal but retweeted the UK’s chief negotiator David Frost who posted: “I’m very pleased and proud to have led a great UK team to secure today’s excellent deal with the EU.”

Labour is whipping its MPs to vote for the deal which was agreed on Christmas Eve.

Leader of Peterborough City Council John Holdich said: “Negotiation is what it says on the tin - you do not get everything you wanted.

“Having looked at it seems to me to be a good deal for the country and achieved what the voters wanted, to control our own destiny and to control immigration.”

City council Labour group leader Shaz Nawaz said: “I believe leaving the EU was a bad idea. But I also believe we need to respect our democratic process. I’ve always believed that.

“I feel a deal is much better than no deal. I do, however, feel that the deal we have could have been a lot better. Our relationship with the EU has been relegated to a lower position.

“The main concerns for me were workers’ rights, the environment, the economic impact and overall standards including food.

“The Conservatives have taken this right to the wire. We’re now in a very tricky and dangerous place. We’re in for a lot of severe turbulence. Businesses face many challenges and most of them are not ready for it. I hope the Government will offer businesses adequate support.

“We are not getting what we were promised during the referendum. Someone needs to be held responsible for that. We’re in for a very rough ride. This coupled with the pandemic will make things very tough for ordinary folk who are doing their best to make ends meet.

“It’s now time to move on and work with businesses to support them the best we can. We need to make the best of a bad situation. That’s life.”

Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council Cllr Nick Sandford said: “It’s better for Peterborough businesses than the likely chaos of no deal but of course it’s not as good as the excellent deal that we already had as members of the EU.

“Generations of students and young people to come will miss out on valuable travel experiences because of UK withdrawal from the Erasmus programme.

“And we are likely to see the break up of the UK as Scottish independence becomes almost inevitable and Irish reunification a distinct possibility.”

Green Party city councillor Nicola Day said: “The Green Party MP Caroline Lucas will be voting against Johnson’s Brexit deal. She says she cannot be complicit in a ‘poorer, smaller UK with diminished global influence’. She added that ‘we have given up a three-course meal and what we have got in exchange is a packet of crisps’.

“The Green Party will not back a deal that increases barriers and costs rather than decreasing them. This deal cuts British jobs, sidelines Britain’s service sector and undermines hard-won protections for the environment, workers’ rights and consumer rights.

“This is a deal that will make the country poorer and hit the most vulnerable hardest of all and we will not stand aside and allow something to be passed into law that is plainly wrong for our country.

“People believed what the Leave campaign promised. Many of these promises have turned out to be untrue, including lies painted on the side of a bus. It is tragic that opinion polls now indicate that a clear majority of people in this country agree that Brexit is a mistake, but it is now too late.”