Sticking to our current timetable and not delaying Brexit is the right thing to do – Telegraph.co.uk

Both Labour and Conservative strategists will be carefully analysing the views of voters in the Red Wall seats as their votes could determine the result of the next general election. What is absolutely clear - from the EU referendum in 2016, the European Parliament elections in 2019 and the General Election in 2019 - is that Red Wall voters wanted to leave the EU and want to, in line with the Conservative slogan, "Get Brexit Done".

On Friday, Michael Gove formally confirmed that the Government will not extend the transition period - a very welcome move. Meanwhile, Labour's new leader, Sir Keir Starmer,recently set out party policy on the transition period. Labour supports leaving the EU at the end of the year and would not seek any extension to that: "I would seek to ensure that the negotiations were completed as quickly as possible. I've not called for a pause because the Government says it's going to get it done by the end of the year".

A new report - Do Not Delay Brexit: The View from the Red Wall - published by the cross-party Centre for Brexit Policy (CBP), demonstrates that both the Government and the opposition policy of not extending the transition period beyond the end of 2020 is a deeply popular move amongst voters in the Red Wall. Extending the transition, something the Remain campaign continues to push for, would be a calamitous move.

This month, the CBP commissioned a poll of Red Wall seats. This was carried out by Savanta ComRes and found that overall, 51 per cent of Red Wall voters believe that the transition period should either remain as it is or be shortened, in comparison to just 42 per cent who want an extension.

What is most telling is the response when asked whether extending the transition period would make them more or less favourable to the Conservative Party. The results are clear that neither the Conservatives nor Labour would have had anything to gain and everything to lose from an extension.

The other striking element of the polling was the positivity people feel about life outside of the EU. When asked what would be better or worse as a result of an extension of the transition period, voters said everything would be worse off, including the cost of living, level of taxes, price of food, price of non-consumer good, waiting times for social housing, average wage. The only thing they thought would be marginally better was the NHS (by just 1 per cent).

It is not just the Red Wall voters who wanted to stick to the current timetable. A previous poll demonstrated that 44 per cent of the electorate were in favour of ending the transition period at the end of this year or quicker, while only 40 per cent wanted it extended into 2021 or beyond.

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Sticking to our current timetable and not delaying Brexit is the right thing to do - Telegraph.co.uk