TIME TO STAND UP TO THE EU BULLIES OVER BREXIT, MRS MAY
THERESA May must “put her foot down” in talks with Brussels after making errors in her negotiating strategy, senior Tories demanded yesterday.
Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith, a former Cabinet minister, said the EU was acting like a “playground bully” because it secretly feared the UK becoming a competitor.
He said Mrs May should give Brussels an ultimatum – let talks move on to trade deals or Britain will walk out.
“The UK has got to recognise that we have got some quite serious cards to play,” he added.
“They do not want us to walk away with no deal because that would mean we would be completely free to set whatever arrangements we want around trade and regulations.
“So we need to be pretty tough with them and stop looking like we constantly beg them to give us an answer about what they want.”
Saying Britain had not yet “forced the issue”, he added: “As the single largest trading partner for the EU and the fifth-largest economy in the world, we need to put our foot down a bit more and say ‘if we don’t get this, it’s your fault, your problem, but give us a call when you want to talk about it further’.”
Mr Duncan Smith, whose own party leadership was ended by his MPs, advised any colleagues now plotting to replace her to “shut up a little bit”.
Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday, he said they should let the PM get on and deliver Brexit.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the influential European Research Group of MPs and tipped as a future Tory leader, insisted it was “ridiculous” to suggest he would challenge Mrs May for her job. But he said it was time to get tough with Brussels and the PM should revive her “no deal is better than a bad deal” threat to leave.
The MP said the UK had made too many concessions to Brussels in talks so far. “We’ve made a huge number of compromises and on the other side nothing has come in return. And that makes me concerned that it’s all very one-way.
“We should be clear and stronger. Basically the deal is very simple. We are paying a very large amount of money, £40billion, and in return we want a trade deal. Everything else is essentially incidental to that.” He said that the EU would have to cancel projects or extract more cash from Germany if it did not get the British money.
“Nothing’s agreed until everything is agreed,” he added. “And therefore we should reiterate that and say quite clearly that if we don’t get the trade deal we want you don’t get the money. And that’s a very strong negotiating position.”
Ruling out trying to topple Mrs May, he insisted: “She is the most impressive and dutiful leader that this country has had. I don’t wish to be prime minister. Of course I wouldn’t challenge her, that’s a ridiculous idea.”
His urged the party to see she was “crucial to the Brexit project” and should be supported.
Daring
But she had “over-complicated” future customs arrangements with the EU by ruling out unilaterally keeping the Northern Ireland border open and daring other countries to put up a “hard border” if they wished.
Mr Rees-Mogg told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show it was the obvious line to take as it was overwhelmingly in Ireland’s interests to keep the border open.
“If you are going into a negotiation, you should use your strongest cards and just to tear one of them up and set hares running on other issues is, I think, an error.”
Meanwhile, Tories seized on Labour deputy leader Tom Watson’s failure to rule out his party voting to keep Britain in the European Economic Area, and thus the single market, when the Commons votes this month.
Brexit Minister Steve Baker said: “This is the latest sign that Labour are trying to frustrate Brexit.”