Quick EU exit would restore confidence, insists Shropshire MP Owen Paterson
Britain will not suffer if it pulls out of the European Union without a special deal, North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson has claimed.
Mr Paterson, a Brexit campaigner and member of the Leave Means Leave group, said he did not want to make deals as part of the split.
He said the British people made it clear that they wanted to leave the EU following the June 23 vote and there should be no compromise on the result.
"The sooner we leave the more certainty and confidence for everyone," he said.
Mr Paterson has been speaking at dozens of fringe meetings during this week's Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, putting forward the case for a quick and decisive split from Europe.
As well as the Leave Means Leave group, the MP, who is also a member of the 2020 think tank that has supported leaving the EU, said businesses should not worry about the threat of the EU imposing trade tariffs on Britain.
"European business will not allow tariffs to be imposed during an election year," he added. "The French wine industry will not want tariffs and the German car industry will not want tarrifs. We export, but we also import. I believe the zero tariff will remain.
"No deal is better than a bad deal."
Mr Paterson is also adamant the move away from European law is not difficult.
He said: "We are told it will be difficult to disentangle ourselves, that it is a complex process. In fact, the process is very simple.
"We must first repeal the 1972 act by passing a new Act of Parliament. Then we have to pass an act that means that the European Law becomes British Law.
"This will mean legislation over everything from how abattoirs are run to environmental laws will continue."
We would be carrying over EU statute applying to Britain into domestic law.
"One we have that certainty and clarity we can they start to fillet that legislation to suit Britain.
"That is exactly what Virginia did in 1776 with the signing of Independence, then New York. They took on all British law and then altered it to suit America."
Mr Paterson said that a soft Brexit, doing deals with the European Union would take much longer.
He said it was maximise business uncertainty and hinder investment.
It would risk Brexit doing economic damage before it started doing economic good, he added.
