By Sir Graham Brady, Chairman Of The 1922 Committee For The Mail On Sunday
Published: 22:02 GMT, 2 March 2019 | Updated: 22:02 GMT, 2 March 2019
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Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, pictured, explains why he has changed his mind on Theresa May's Brexit deal and will support it in Commons
Lions led by donkeys: nearly three years after the British people voted to take back control of our democracy, it is painfully obvious that the political class at Westminster doesn’t share the belief in our country that is shown by the people.
All too often it has looked as if the Establishment has wanted to negotiate a Brexit that looks shockingly like not leaving at all, even though the European Union has made it clear that a deep and open free trade agreement is there for the asking.
This is why the Prime Minister’s EU Withdrawal Agreement came so close to sinking back in January.
The agreement has some good points: it gives certainty to EU citizens in the United Kingdom and ours living on the continent; it tells businesses that contracts will continue to be honoured, and it gives a transition period during which a future free trade agreement could be negotiated.
But the agreement also contains a monumental bear trap.
The protocol that sets out to give reassurance that the Irish border would remain entirely open would have two damaging effects.
First, the so-called backstop would treat Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the United Kingdom, something that is anathema to anyone who believes in the Union; and
