Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit trade deal was approved by the UK Parliament less than 24 hours before the country’s final separation from the European Union.
The House of Lords gave the green light to the agreement late Wednesday, just one day before Britain left the EU’s single market, when the transition period expires at 23:00.
Johnson thanked members of parliament for supporting “historic” legislation, which turns the agreement signed with the EU into British law.
“The fate of this great country is now in our hands,” Johnson said in an emailed statement after the deal was approved. “We take on this duty with a sense of purpose and the interests of the British public at the heart of everything we do.”
The rush to get the agreement in Parliament in one day puts an end to a four-year saga that encompassed British politics and divided the country.
Since the June 2016 referendum vote, Brexit-related turmoil has forced two prime ministers it resigned, lost markets and saw a radical redefinition of Britain’s relationship with its largest trading partner.
For Johnson, it is a personal achievement as well as a political milestone. He was the face of the 2016 pro-Brexit campaign and had the most to lose politically due to his failure to divorce in an orderly manner.
Four and a half years, three prime ministers, two general elections and a lot of deadlines. Here is a 100-second recap of the UK’s exit from the EU.
There are still risks for Johnson – and for the UK – in the coming months and years, with new rules for trade and controls on goods crossing the border that could make disruption inevitable. The question of how close or distant Britain should be to the EU market will become a permanent feature of the British political debate.
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In the short term, however, the deal gives Johnson an internal victory at a difficult time. His government is fighting a the invigorated coronavirus that has already caused the deepest recession in more than 300 years and now threatens to overwhelm the health service.
Under the agreement, there will be zero-tariff trade with zero tariffs between the UK and the EU – but very limited provisions for service companies, which account for 80% of the UK economy.
The agreement – concluded on Christmas Eve – was signed on Wednesday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel before flying to London to be inked by Johnson.
As the clock strikes the UK’s exit from the single market and customs union, the prime minister will be at his residence on Downing Street with his family, according to a government spokesman.
The moment will mark “a new beginning in the history of our country and a new relationship with the EU as the greatest ally,” Johnson said.