U.S. Governor Urges Brits to Stand Up to the EU: ‘This is Great Britain, You Don’t Need Their Permission To Do Anything’

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Jack Montgomery

A U.S. politician has criticised the European Union for trying to hold the United Kingdom to “ransom”.

The remarks were made during an interview with Britain’s LBC radio, when Phil Bryant said: “It’s hard for Americans to grasp this. Apparently, Brussels still is trying to tell you, even after the vote by the people of Great Britain, that they’re going to decide what Great Britain will do.

“Now there’s this talk of how much ransom you’re going to pay — and that’s kind of like what it is: ‘If you pay us enough you’re going to be able to leave.’

“This is Great Britain, you don’t need their permission to do anything. That’s the way Americans look at it,” he said.

“I know that people I talk to are so eager about seeing Brexit come into fruition because we believe that the United States, all of North America, Canada, Mexico, all are looking forward to building stronger trade, greater alliances with Great Britain,” the governor added.

“Get us back to the future, where we once were, where Great Britain and the United States stood strong together.”

Prime Minister Theresa May has made an apparent capitulation to Brussels, with an offer of roughly €20 billion doubled to roughly €40 billion in exchange not for a Free Trade Agreement, but merely for an agreement to begin trade talks.

Incredibly, and despite having failed to offer the UK a single concession since talks began, the EU has responded to May’s latest cave-in by saying Britain is still not offering enough.

The bloc wants not only more money, but an agreement that the EU Court will continue to have the last say on the rights of EU nationals in Britain, assurances that Britain will not subject the EU to “unfair” competition by changing its tax regime, regulations, state aid rules, and so not deviate too much from the so-called “European model”.

It also appears to be seeking to keep Northern Ireland within the EU Single Market to prevent a customs border between the province and the Irish Republic — which could leave it more integrated with the EU than with the UK after Brexit, at least in economic terms.

The Remainer-dominated government’s willingness to compromise again and again without any reciprocation on the EU side is a matter of considerable confusion for many Brexit supporters, particularly as a ‘No Deal’ trade under World Trade Organization rules would cost the EU far more in tariffs than Britain.

With Germany in political turmoil following Angela Merkel’s failure to form a government, civil unrest on the streets of Spain, Poland on the verge of sanctions, and countries like France, Italy, and Greece in the grip of seemingly intractable economic difficulties, there is some question over whether or not the EU will even remain solvent if Britain walks away without a deal — making Mrs. May’s decision to treat it as though it was negotiating from a position of strength even more questionable.

Follow Jack Montgomery on Twitter: @JackBMontgomery
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