On 9th March, Monday a labour leadership candidate has urged the UK prime minister to strike a deal to extend the EU transition period because of coronavirus epidemic.
In her column in The Gaurdian Lisa Nandy, said it was necessary that Boris Johnson must seek for a delay in the Brexit transition period even as chancellor Rishi Sunak stressed that there was no need fo that to happen under any circumstances.
However, Nandy, insisted that businesses and communities could not cope with the uncertainty of leaving the transition as well as the impact of the growing coronavirus crisis. The MP for Wigan wrote,
“British companies who trade with the EU do not know what terms they’ll be trading on in 10 months’ time. Add to this the falling demand and disruption created by coronavirus and it is reasonable to expect many businesses will not survive. The government has boxed itself into a corner by legislating to end the transition period in December come what may.
“It now faces a direct choice between narrow partisan ideology and the interests of the nation. An extension will mean that British citizens living abroad will be able to access free healthcare for at least another year, that we are able to continue to access the early warning and response system [EWRS] that helped us coordinate Sars and bird flu. Public safety is at stake. This must happen now.”
According to a poll by YouGov and Sky News, Nandy is lagging behind in the third position in the Labour leadership contest with a mere 16% vote share while Keir Starmer is predicted to win the first round of the contest and eventually replace Corbyn. The results will be announced on 4 April.
