 Good evening everyone. Instead of a speech on this topic this evening, I want instead to give you a bit more or a bit of an update on what's going on with Brexit since the interview I've got that was showing at half past seven with Brian Sylvester. So that was recorded yesterday, but since then we've had some developments and I want to share those with you but also give some clarification on some other matters that we'll be talking about. So first piece to clarify is what are the sticking points in the current negotiations between the UK and the EU on the on our trade? So our we will stop the UK will stop obeying EU rules on the 31st of December and it is according to latest news, which I'll get to in a minute, looking less likely that we'll be able to reach a trade deal between now and the 31st of December. The sticking points are the fishing rights and the EU wants to keep the common fisheries policy which is that the European waters are common and open to anyone to fish them. The UK wants its own fishing waters back and a 12 mile 12 mile zone of its own fishing waters which I think is non-negotiable and I'm hoping that the British government will actually demand this and keep demanding it and hold its nerve on this. Another one is the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and it wants the EU wants it to be the ruler on disputes between the UK and the EU on any future trade agreement. The likelihood is that the potential for bias on the part of the ECJ which interprets law in favour of greater unification and very much not in favour of countries breaking away from the EU as the UK has done. So needless to say the UK doesn't want the decision maker to be the ECJ so they want to create a new arbiter, a new body to oversee this. The level playing field is also an issue. Now what this means is that the EU wants the UK to stick to similar policy on things like environmental regulations or workers rights or state aid. The EU wants this to prevent the UK gaining a competitive edge over them by for example being able to give subsidies to farmers and this would be the state aid element of it or indeed environmental regulations. At the point of that, the point of leaving the EU was to be able to make our own rules, regulations and laws and to have to be to have to maintain the same laws on crucial parts of our economy and our society as the EU is not breaking away, it is not leaving the EU so those are the main sticking points. The withdrawal agreement on these issues essentially says that we will remain under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice until the transition period ends and that on the jurisdiction or the on the fishing rights that a separate agreement must be reached well that's the agreement that people are trying to reach now and can't and it seems to me to be probably the difficult one you either have shared waters or you don't but the whole point of it is to get coastal waters back for the UK and for the coastal economy in the UK and that has to be non-negotiable acting in the best interest of the coastal communities and economy in this country has to be non-negotiable so the latest news is that trade talks to according to the BBC this afternoon UK EU talks to reach a post-Brexit trade deal are unlikely to continue after Sunday Foreign Secretary Dominic Rob has said his comments come after a meeting between Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen aimed at breaking the Brexit trade deadlock Mrs von der Leyen said she had a good conversation but it is difficult another development since I spoke to Brian yesterday is that the EU has set out its measures in the event of a no deal by the end of the 31st of December again according to the BBC the EU has published contingency plans in case of the possible collapse of Brexit trade talks with the UK the plans aim to ensure smooth UK EU air road air and road travel as well as allowing the possibility of fishing access to each other's waters they come after talks between UK PM Boris Johnson and EU chief Ursula van der Leyen aimed at ending a deadlock over the deal ended without agreement the UK is due to stop following EU trade deals on the 31st or trading rules on the 31st of December so what happens on the 31st of December in the event of a no deal well the EU's contingency plans in point form according to this report to ensure the provision of certain air services between EU EU and UK to allow aviation safety certificates to be used in EU aircraft without disruption to ensure basic connectivity for road freight and passenger transport for six months providing the UK does the same to allow the possibility of reciprocal to allow the possibility of reciprocal fishing access for UK and EU vessels in each other's waters for one year or until an agreement was reached okay so according to the EU's plans if there's no deal at the end of this we would carry on as we are in terms of fishing for a year trading under WTO rules the government gives quite a lot of guidance for this because this is what is going to happen if we don't reach a deal with the EU by the 31st of December we'll trade under WTO rules now as it sounds like these are actual rules and I'll read to you from the government the government's website from 1st of January 2021 if no trade agreement exists between the UK and another country trade with that country will take place under world trade WTO rules WTO rules state now this is the most favorite nation rule a WTO rule state that the same trade in terms must be applied to all WTO members unless there is a trade agreement between two or more countries most favorite nation means that the UK cannot offer better trading terms to one country or not another unless through a trade agreement so there are rules and there are regulations however they allow for the country for the UK to make its own trade agreements and to agree for tariff free trade for example we don't know what's going to happen between now and the 34th of December but I do know what needs to happen and that is that the British government holds its nerve sticks to its guns and makes sure that it acts in the best interests of the British people particularly with regard to our ability to make our own rules and regulations in the best interests of the British people and also particularly with regard to the fishing communities and coastal communities that have been so decimated around this country we need to breathe life back into them and we can only do that if we give them back their fishing waters we can and will reach a simple trade deal with the European Union but we shouldn't be bullied and we shouldn't be drawn into an agreement where we don't actually have independence at all this is and always has been about more than trade it's about sovereignty it's about the right and ability of the United Kingdom to stand independently as a sovereign nation governed by its people that's what this is all about the trade deals will come there's no these doom stories it's not going to happen we will trade as we always have and always will it's fairly simple what we need to do but let's see if we have a government in Boris Johnson's government that is willing and able and have the courage to do it we'll see what happens between the 31st between now and the 34th of December and we will of course keep covering this and keep you up to date with it enjoy the interview with Brian at half seven see you later