Darling calls for compromise in Brexit negotiations

The triggering of Article 50 on Wednesday March 29 2017 is a moment that will go down as one of the most significant in UK history.

Signifying Britain’s formal intention to leave the EU, the question on everybody’s lips is “So, what happens now?”

One man who has attempted to answer the question is Lord Alistair Darling of Roulanish.

As former Chancellor of the Exechequer and ex-chairman of Better Together, a cross-party group that successfully campaigned for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom in 2014, the Labour politician knows a thing or two about independence referendums.

It was on this subject that he delivered the third EG Peter Wilson Lecture on the evening of March 29, hosted by Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and supported by Savills.

“First I should issue a warning. All I can say is you should have looked up where I stood on these things; if you had I’m sure you would have stayed upstairs with your glass of warm wine and waited for it all to finish,” he joked.

But it did set the tone for a rather serious message. “I use the timeline two to five years, as I don’t think negotiations will be tidied up in two years,” Darling said.

“The prime minister says she wants the country to unite after the referendum, but they don’t unite they divide. Day after day, the wounds that were caused two years before the Scottish referendum are still there, there is no sense of unity.

“One of my fears is there is every chance if we don’t watch it, Brexit and Scottish nationalists could tear the UK apart, which will be a tragedy for all of us,” he told a 200-strong crowd which had packed the auditorium on all sides.

Among the guests were students who have received the first EG Peter Wilson scholarships to study land economy at Fitzwilliam College.

The scholarships were provided by the family of the late Peter Wilson, the former owner of EG and an honorary fellow of Fitzwilliam College.

Alistair Darling delivers his lecture on Brexit at the Estates Gazette Peter Wilson Lecture at Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge. March 29 2017 Matthew Power Photography www.matthewpowerphotography.co.uk 07969 088655 mpowerphoto@yahoo.co.uk @mpowerphoto

Darling insisted Brexit negotiations would not be easy. With 27 member states to agree terms with, and the government’s decision to opt for a hard Brexit out of the single market, complex factors meant the road to stability might still be a long one.

While his somewhat bleak message contrasted with the mild spring evening, a time which traditionally signifies new beginnings, Darling remained hopeful that the UK would come out of it in a good position if the government was “pragmatic and approached it with common sense”.

“Article 50 could take some time, it may not succeed and could be car crash but we will need to compromise. Reasonable voices need to be heard or we will be going for a far more uncertain future. This is not a five year term but something that might be around in the next generation.”

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