May’s $3.7b plan for no-deal exit
UK Cabinet pushing ahead with preparations for impact
British Prime Minister Theresa May is pushing ahead with a £2 billion ($3.7b) plan to prepare the UK for the possibility of leaving the EU in March without a deal.
In the House of Commons yesterday, May gave her strongest warning yet about the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit, saying it would “risk the jobs, services and security of the people we serve”.
But she said that, with the fate of her deal in the balance, the Government had a duty to step up preparations for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.
The move came as it emerged Brussels is preparing a “basic” offer to keep flights in the air and money flowing for up to nine months in the event of a no-deal Brexit. A no-deal could be a chaotic outcome that could see economic recession, gridlock at UK ports, planes grounded and shortages of essential goods.
Cabinet ministers were to discuss the no-deal plans at their last meeting of the year today. But, in an extraordinary breakdown in Cabinet discipline, ministers were openly speculating yesterday over how to proceed on Brexit if May’s deal fails in a parliamentary vote in mid-January.
Business Secretary Greg Clark and Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd went public with demands for the Prime Minister to hold a series of “indicative votes” on alternatives — including no-deal, a Norway-style soft Brexit and a second referendum.
The idea would allow MPs to vote on a series of Brexit options to “test the will of Parliament” but the results would be non-binding. It is backed by a string of ministers, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Scottish Secretary David Mundell.
“We can’t just have continuing uncertainty and I think Parliament should be invited to say what it would agree with,” Clark told the BBC. “I think businesses up and down the country would expect elected members to take responsibility, rather than just be critics.”
A number of ministers including Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling want a major increase in no-deal
planning ahead of a so-called “managed no-deal”. International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt suggested she would back a “managed no-deal”, in which the UK would offer to pay £20 billion in return for a 21-month transition period to give time to negotiate a looser trade arrangement.
May yesterday ruled out a second Brexit referendum, saying it would do “irreparable damage” to Britain, fuelling divisions.
However, Rudd earlier suggested the Government should keep open the possibility of a second referendum. She said “all options” should remain on the table if the deal is voted down.
EU officials will unveil the full extent of the plan to limit the damage of a “cliff-edge” Brexit tomorrow. Brexiteers could seize on it as evidence the bloc is prepared to accept a “managed no-deal”.
The Government has spent £3 billion on no-deal plans, including for thousands of extra staff on border issues. Downing Street said there will be an announcement “shortly” on how an extra £2 billion will be allocated to no-deal preparations.
The postponed vote in Parliament will be more than a month after it was originally scheduled and just 10 weeks before Britain leaves the EU.