Brexit plan ‘disaster’ for Tories
Brexiteers are being held in contempt by a ‘‘small cabal’’ in Downing Street, a senior Eurosceptic Conservative has claimed, as Theresa May faces a rebellion over her Chequers compromise.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Maria Caulfield, the MP who resigned as a Conservative vice-chairman this week, says that the prime minister’s Brexit plan is ‘‘catastrophically bad’’ and will be a ‘‘disaster for the Conservative Party’’.
May will today face a Eurosceptic backlash when she publishes her Brexit White Paper, setting out in detail her plan after it was hammered out at Chequers, her rural retreat, last week.
There were signs that the fragile Cabinet truce in the wake of the summit was breaking yesterday after three Eurosceptic ministers raised concerns that the plan gave too much authority to the European Court of Justice.
No 10 was said to have made last-minute changes to the White Paper, which has already been through nine drafts, in an attempt to address their concerns.
It was reported by The Spectator that May told David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, that she could not make changes to the White Paper because ‘‘I’ve already cleared it with Mrs Merkel’’.
And Nick Timothy, the prime minister’s former joint chief of staff, said that Downing Street was ‘‘stupid’’ to consult Labour over the Chequers plan earlier this week, warning that the approach risked ‘‘deepening Tory divisions’’ over Brexit.
In an article for The Daily Tele- graph, he says that the Chequers plan is ‘‘flawed’’ and will leave Britain as ‘‘rule takers’’ and potentially unable to pursue an independent trade policy. However, he warns that if Eurosceptics vote it down, Remainers could force ‘‘an even softer Brexit – or no Brexit at all’’.
Meanwhile, May is preparing for a rebellion next week from Tory Eurosceptics. Jacob ReesMogg, the leading Eurosceptic MP and chairman of the European Research Group, along with fellow Tory backbenchers, tabled four amendments to the Government’s Trade bill as they warned that the Government had ‘‘broken their trust’’.
Up to 80 Eurosceptic MPs could back their amendments, including a demand that the UK abandons its pledge to collect tariffs on behalf of the EU unless EU states reciprocate for Britain.
Another amendment, backed by the DUP, would force the Government to commit in law to never having a border in the Irish Sea, something that could potentially kill off plans for a customs backstop.
The two other amendments would force the Government to commit to having a separate VAT regime from the EU and force the Prime Minister to draw up primary legislation if she wanted Britain to remain in the customs union.
The three Cabinet ministers raised concerns that the language in the White Paper suggested that the UK would be closer to the EU than agreed, specifically over an agreement that the European Court of Justice would have a role in overseeing any deal.
There were also concerns that a ‘‘mobility framework’’ for British and EU citizens could lead to a climbdown over free movement. One source said that the White Paper felt as if it had ‘‘been written for Brussels rather than the British people’’.
Dominic Raab, the new Brexit Secretary, said last night: ‘‘It [the Brexit White Paper] is a vision that respects the result of the referendum and delivers a principled and practical Brexit.’’ - Telegraph Group