LAST CHANCE TO DO A DEAL
PM warns EU ... but Macron gives him until end of the week to revise plan
BORIS Johnson last night warned European Union leaders they are facing their ‘final opportunity’ to secure a Brexit deal – or else see the UK leave with No Deal at the end of the month.
With time running out to secure an agreement ahead of next week’s EU Council, the Prime Minister used a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday to insist: ‘We have to push forward.’
The intervention came amid signs that EU leaders are happy to drag their feet on the assumption that the Benn Act – which Mr Johnson calls the Surrender Act – will neutralise his No Deal threat.
Instead of ordering intensive talks, EU leaders set Mr Johnson a fresh deadline of Friday to make further compromises.
According to reports, Mr Macron told him they would ‘evaluate at the end of the week whether a deal is possible that respects European Union principles’. That leaves hopes of a deal based on Mr Johnson’s proposals hanging by a thread. Any deal would have to be formally signed off at the EU Council on October 17 if there is any hope of getting it through Parliament by the end of the month.
Opposition MPs believe they have Mr Johnson trapped as the Act will force him to request an extension on October 19.
In the call, Mr Johnson told Mr Macron that the EU should not be lured into the mistaken belief that the UK will stay in the EU after October 31 and urged the EU to ‘ match the compromises’ the UK has made.
And a senior No 10 source said: ‘The Surrender Act and its authors are undermining negotiations, but if EU leaders are betting that it will prevent No Deal, that would be an historic misunderstanding.’
Yesterday, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay went to the Netherlands for talks and is expected in other EU capitals today and tomorrow.
Mr Johnson’s EU ‘sherpa’ David Frost will return to Brussels this morning and the PM is expected to continue telephone diplomacy.
But there was precious little sign of the momentum needed to get a deal done in time. On Saturday, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier demanded ‘different proposals’ from the UK saying that otherwise talks could not ‘advance’. In other developments: Mr Barclay suggested the UK could give ground on the details of the ‘consent’ mechanism for the Northern Ireland Assembly;
Opposition MPs discussed installing John Bercow as interim Prime Minister to stop No Deal, it was reported.
A poll put the Tories 15 points ahead of Labour – as a Jeremy Corbyn ally suggested there would be an election by the end of the year.
The Lib Dems agreed to a ‘Remain Alliance Pact’ in which they will not stand a candidate against leading anti-Brexit campaigner Dominic Grieve.
There was speculation Mr Johnson could try to sabotage the EU budget and send Nigel Farage to Brussels as a commissioner if he is forced to delay Brexit.
Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said she would not be standing for election again.
Aides also suggested Mr Johnson will refuse to quit No 10 if he loses a confidence vote even if MPs back another successor.
Today, a Scottish court is expected to rule in a case brought by Remain campaigners which seeks to force Mr Johnson to show his hand on extension.
If they win, it could mean any attempt to avoid asking for a delay would leave Mr Johnson facing contempt of court proceedings.
Parliament will sit for two days this week and then is expected to prorogue before a Queen’s Speech next Monday.
Brussels officials have all but killed off the idea of getting a deal based on Mr Johnson’s proposal done by next week’s EU summit or by October 31.
They are expected to make an 11th hour offer of a time-limited Northern Ireland- only backstop that would keep it inside the customs union. No 10 has insisted this is a red line for Mr Johnson.
‘Match the compromises’
AFTER legislating to block a No Deal Brexit, smug Remain MPs patted themselves heartily on their backs.
But with supreme irony, their plot to make a clean break from the EU impossible has made this outcome much more likely.
To sort out the Irish backstop, Boris Johnson submitted sensible plans based on difficult and generous concessions, winning cross-Commons support. But Eurocrats, with no imperative to negotiate, just sneer contemptuously. They want capitulation.
They’re gambling on pro-Remain parties winning a general election – and revoking Article 50. But that’s a dangerous assumption – one poll puts the Tories 15 points ahead.
If Boris won a majority, it’s unlikely such a benevolent offer would stay on the table. Therefore, to avoid a No Deal Brexit that would cause everyone economic pain, compromise is essential. Now’s the time for the EU’s posturing juveniles to grow up.