Scottish Independence activists take part in an Independence 2 rally, outside the SNP conference in Glasgow, mid-October, 2016. Jane Barlow/Press Association. All rights reserved.Amidst the rapidly changing politics of Brexit, and the furore around the Article 50 judgement, it seems that the big division between the government and opposition parties is whether the UK heads towards a ‘soft’ or a ‘hard’ Brexit. But with Theresa May denying she wants a hard Brexit, and Labour and the LibDems not in the same place on what a soft Brexit looks like, the question arises both as to how meaningful the soft/hard distinction is, and whether any of the parties really know what they want.
Currently, both the Tory government and Labour say they want access to the EU’s single market while controlling migration to some degree. This would suggest some sort of ‘bespoke’ deal – in effect, a comprehensive UK-EU trade and investment agreement. In contrast, the LibDems, SNP, Greens and some Tory backbenchers want to retain membership of the single market – and so remain in favour of unfettered free movement.
UKIP inevitably, wants a hard Brexit – outside the single market and customs union with strong migration controls. How close or different the government and UKIP positions end up being is yet to be seen although there are certainly similarities. But Theresa May is only slowly starting to give some glimpses of the government’s approach – a position that is surely unsustainable, and undemocratic, whatever the ruling of the Supreme Court on the Article 50 case.
