Lord David Frost, former lead Brexit negotiator, expressed concern about the outcome of Brexit negotiations and criticised the deal delivered by Theresa May as “terrible.”
In an exclusive interview with GB News, he suggested that there may be nervousness about the government’s aims and whether they are seeking to achieve everything that is important to people who care about stability in Northern Ireland and the sovereignty of the country.
Lord Frost believes that the protocol cannot survive in its current form due to the changing politics in Northern Ireland over the last two or three years. He suggests that the correct destination for this is full sovereignty over the whole country and that a good deal would take a significant step in that direction.
Lord Frost also expressed concern that the Northern Ireland protocol bill has been parked, and that this may weaken the government’s negotiating position. He suggests that the bill should be pushed through the Lords in parallel to make it clear that there is another option if there isn’t a good deal.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of the Brexit negotiations will be and whether Lord Frost’s concerns will be addressed.
Lord Frost continued to criticise the deal negotiated by Theresa May in 2018, which he described as a “terrible deal.” He stated that the deal would have kept the whole country in the Customs Union and bits of the single market forever with an EU lock.
Lord Frost and his team were able to improve the deal by negotiating a free trade agreement and giving the Northern Ireland Assembly consent over the continuation of the protocol. However, Lord Frost believes that there were still mistakes made in 2017 and 2018 that were not fully corrected.
Despite his criticisms, Lord Frost believes that the most important thing was to deliver on the referendum results and get the UK out of the EU. He acknowledged that it was an unsatisfactory choice but believes it was the right one.
Regarding the latest deal that is about to be struck, Lord Frost stated that he has no idea what is in it, but has read media reports over the last week or so.
Lord Frost stated that the contents of the latest deal will determine whether he is happy with it or not. He also expressed confidence in the Conservative Party’s ability to win the next election and criticised Labour, stating that they would want to dismantle parts of the deal if they were to win.
On the topic of corporation tax, Lord Frost believes that it should be scrapped and that the current increase sends a poor signal. He stated that if spending cuts need to be made to offset the loss of revenue, then that would be a better solution.
Regarding his own political ambitions, Lord Frost stated that he would take seriously any request from a constituency and the party to stand as an MP. He did not rule out the possibility of running for office in the future.
