PM’S BRUSSELS GAMBLE
Bid to extend transition may win over EU... but enrages her own MPs
‘Losing confidence of the party’
THERESA May was inching towards a Brexit breakthrough in Brussels last night, but only after she gambled by offering fresh concessions that enraged Tory Eurosceptics.
The Prime Minister confirmed reports that she was willing to extend Britain’s transition out of the EU by ‘a matter of months’ if it helped clinch a deal.
And she did not dispute a claim by Helen McEntee, Ireland’s Europe minister, that she had dropped her demand for a fixed end date on a controversial backstop plan that could see the UK remain in a temporary customs union after the transition ends.
However, extending the transition – which is due to finish at the end of December 2020 – means the UK would continue to accept EU laws and the free movement of people, and would involve billions more in payments on top of the £39billion divorce bill. Critics said an extra year could cost £16billion.
There were indications in Brussels that Mrs May’s gambit could break the deadlock over the issue of the Irish border, which has threatened to derail hopes of a deal.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was reported to have told EU leaders it was time to show ‘flexibility’ in Brexit negotiations.
But Mrs May’s diplomatic gamble caused a political firestorm at home, with both Brexiteers and some Remainers warning that the concessions were a step too far. It was unclear, however, whether the anger would end in a leadership challenge, with much of the criticism coming from those who were already attacking Mrs May’s approach. A Tory source added: ‘It’s the same people, they’re just shouting louder.’
Former minister Nick Boles, who campaigned for Remain, warned that Mrs May was ‘losing the confidence of the party’, while fellow Remainer and former Brexit minister Lord Bridges said the idea of a longer transition was ‘dead on arrival’.
Jacob Rees-Mogg said a longer transition was a ‘poor attempt at kicking the can down the road’, while a source on the European Research Group said Tory MPs were ‘on a hair trigger’ to call for Mrs May to go.
Eurosceptic Nadine Dorries urged MPs to follow her own lead by submitting a letter of no confidence in the PM.
But Mrs May’s willingness to extend the transition is thought to have the support of some prominent Cabinet ministers.
Business Secretary Greg Clark, Chancellor Philip Hammond and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox all told the PM she was on the right track.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Commons leader Andrea Leadsom – both Brexiteers – are also said to have indicated they could live with the compromise. Yesterday, other Tories urged the party to get behind Theresa May and stop sniping.
Former minister Gary Streeter said: ‘We are making the mistake of reacting to the ebb and flow of negotiations rather than judging the deal at the end.’ The row came as:
Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier hinted at a breakthrough, saying he was ‘ready to resume negotiations’.
Irish PM Leo Varadkar brandished a newspaper warning of a return to IRA violence as he tried to persuade EU leaders to continue backing his hardline stance on the Irish border.
Deputy DUP leader Nigel Dodds warned extending the transition would ‘do nothing on the key issue of the unacceptable issue of the Irish backstop’.
But there were positive noises from Brussels, with European Commission president JeanClaude Juncker saying an extended transition was ‘a good idea’ and a deal ‘will be done’.
Speaking in Brussels, Mrs May played down the criticism back home, and hinted that further concessions may be needed to seal a deal, warning of ‘more difficult moments as we enter the final stages’.
However, some Brexiteer ministers gave coded criticisms, with International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt dismissing the idea of staying bound to the EU for longer, adding: ‘That is not the position. The Prime Minister has been very clear about when the implementation period will come to an end.’
Mr Gove said it was vital that Brexit occurred ‘at the earliest possible point’.
But Tory moderates urged MPs to back the PM. Simon Hart, founder of the Brexit Delivery Group of 80 Tory MPs, said critics were ‘weakening our negotiating position’.
A Whitehall source said Mrs May had offered concessions on the Irish border to ‘unblock’ talks that collapsed at the weekend, adding: ‘We have got to get movement on this issue. It is holding everything back. If we don’t solve it, we’re stuck.’
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