George Galloway: More people voted for Brexit than the SNP
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As part of his Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) the Prime Minister agreed to the Northern Ireland Protocol, which has introduced some customs checks on goods travelling between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. This infuriated unionists who argue it undermines the British union.
He also approved a fishing deal which sees EU boats retain a vast amount of their access to British waters until at least 2026.
Ben Habib, formerly a Brexit Party MEP, criticised Mr Johnson’s record on Twitter.
He posted: “The WA [Withdrawal Agreement] and TCA gave up Northern Ireland, our fishing industry and our ability as a country to chart our own independent way.
“All that to protect 20 percent of our GDP in traded goods.
“80 percent of GDP, in services, left without a deal. The best deal was no deal.”
The post received 144 retweets and more than 300 likes.
Mr Johnson had said a “border down the Irish Sea” would only happen “over my dead body”.
However under the terms of his Brexit trade deal, agreed last December, checks are being imposed on some produce.
Experts attributed anger over this policy as one of the factors behind loyalist rioting which exploded across Northern Ireland last month.
Earlier this year the Government unilaterally announced it was delaying the introduction of additional checks.
This infuriated the EU which has launched legal action against the UK over the matter.
In January Brussels briefly threatened to suspend the Northern Ireland Protocol itself in a row over coronavirus vaccines.
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Following outrage in London, Dublin and Belfast it was forced to back down.
Under the trade deal terms, EU fishing boats will give up 25 percent of their catch in UK waters between now and 2026.
After that Britain could theoretically exclude them though this would risk retaliatory tariffs.
Dozens of French fishing boats protested off Jersey earlier this month.
They claimed increased bureaucracy had reduced their access to the island’s fishing waters since Brexit.
The protest was monitored by two Royal Navy warships.
Previously the UK had been subject to the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy.
France is reportedly threatening to block a financial services deal between the UK and EU unless Britain makes concessions on fishing.
Whilst the UK granted equivalence to European financial institutions post-Brexit, allowing them to trade unimpeded, the EU did not reciprocate.
Fishing was worth £437 million to the UK economy in 2019 versus £126 billion for financial services.
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