Theresa May’s Brexit trading plan fails to win over key Tories
Theresa May's hopes of winning over rebel Tories were dashed on Thursday as a string of MPs spoke out against the latest part of her Brexit plan.
A 26-page declaration on the UK and EU’s future trading arrangement was released following late Wednesday night talks between negotiators in Brussels, committing both sides to an “ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership”.
Despite the declaration leaving much to be negotiated, the pound rose 0.8 per cent against the dollar when it was revealed a draft agreement had been struck.
Brexiter Tories reacted more negatively than the markets, with former Cabinet minister Priti Patel dismissing it as a “costly surrender.”
The criticism escalated when May appeared in the Commons to update MPs on the negotiations, with many focusing on the UK-wide backstop in the withdrawal agreement.
It remains unclear how May will get the deal – set to be signed off by the EU in Brussels on Sunday – through the deeply divided House of Commons.
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson urged the PM to “junk forthwith the backstop” amid fears the UK would be unable to leave the arrangement without the permission of the EU.
Johnson said: “Nothing in this political declaration changes the hard reality of the withdrawal agreement that gives the EU a continuing veto over the unilateral power of the entire United Kingdom to do free trade deals or to take back control of our laws.”
May tried to win over her Brexit critics by thanking former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and ex-cabinet minister Owen Paterson for their help in beefing up alternative plans for the backstop in the withdrawal agreement following a meeting on Monday.
It is believed the dialogue with the two Brexiters halted the flow of letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister.
Despite May’s warm words, both men spoke out against her plan in the Commons, signalling they were still against the deal.
Paterson, a former Northern Ireland secretary, said: "As long as the backstop is in existence in a legally binding document, there is a danger that should talks fail the backstop becomes accepted, we have the horror of being in the customs union, the horror of Northern Ireland being split off under a different regime."
In a speech in Downing Street before heading to parliament, May said the declaration was the “right deal” for the UK.
“It delivers on the vote of the referendum. It brings back control of our borders, our money and our laws,” she said, adding: “It does so while protecting jobs, protecting our security and protecting the integrity of the United Kingdom.”
Unlike the withdrawal agreement, the future relationship declaration has no legal basis, prompting Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to label it a “blindfold Brexit”.
He added: “We have 26 pages of waffle. This empty document could have been written two years ago. It is peppered with phrases such as ‘The parties will look at’, ’The parties will explore’.
“What on Earth has the government been doing for the last two years?”
On financial services, the text promises the UK and EU must enter into “appropriate consultation” before changes to equivalence decisions, a move praised by Stephen Jones, chief executive of UK Finance.
He said: “Avoiding a no deal cliff edge remains the absolute priority for the banking and finance industry.
“This draft political declaration provides further clarification as to what a deal might look like. It lays the foundations for negotiations on future trade between the EU and UK including in financial services, with a clear commitment to close regulatory cooperation and appropriate consultation over future equivalence decisions.”