PM: Brexit deal is close – but I won’t compromise on will of the people
THERESA May last night warned Brussels she will not agree a Brexit deal ‘at any cost’ as she tried to calm Cabinet jitters about lastminute concessions. The Prime Minister said negotiations with the EU were ‘now in the endgame’, with officials ‘working through the night’ to strike a deal in the next 48 hours.
But she warned that outstanding issues – most notably the Irish border – were proving ‘immensely difficult’. And she insisted she would not sign a deal at any price. Michel Barnier yesterday told EU ministers that the outline of a deal was ‘largely defined’, suggesting it could be put to a meeting of the Cabinet in London today.
But No10 said his reported comments should be taken with a ‘bucket of salt’. Sources played down the prospect of ministers being asked to sign off a deal today.
But they did not rule out a further Cabinet meeting as early as tomorrow if a deal is agreed.
British and EU negotiators worked until 2.45am yesterday and were expected to work early into the morning today. No10 yesterday said ‘good progress’ had been made but warned there were ‘substantial issues still to be overcome’.
International development secretary Penny Mordaunt yesterday issued a public warning that the Cabinet could block any deal that leaves us shackled to Brussels. She said: ‘Cabinet’s job is to put something to Parliament that’s going to deliver on the referendum result.’
Several Cabinet ministers, including Jeremy Hunt and Andrea Leadsom, have warned the PM that her deal will not get through Parliament if it leaves Britain unable to walk away from a ‘temporary’ customs union designed to resolve the Northern Ireland border problem.
Environment secretary Michael Gove was also seeking assurances that a pledge to free Britain’s fishing industry from hated Brussels rules would not be traded away.
As speculation about a possible deal reached fever pitch:
Ministers were braced for a possible Commons defeat today, with Tory Eurosceptics threatening to join with Labour to force the publication of the Government’s legal advice on the final deal.
Whitehall sources warned costly contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit will have to be triggered by the end of this month unless a deal is finalised in the coming days.
Spain’s PM Pedro Sanchez called for a second referendum.
Former home secretary Amber Rudd warned the Canada-style trade deal championed by Boris Johnson would inflict a ‘heavy price’ on the economy and was ‘politically impossible’.
Ex-culture secretary John Whittingdale said the PM would have to resign if her deal is blocked as ‘she has staked her credibility’ on it.
Mrs May used a speech at the annual Lord Mayor’s banquet in the City last night to try to calm fears that she is poised to strike a deal that would keep the UK tied permanently to the EU.
‘Overwhelmingly, the British people want us to get on with delivering Brexit, and I am determined to deliver for them,’ she said. ‘I want them to know that I will not compromise on what people voted for in the referendum. This will not be an agreement at any cost.
‘Any deal must ensure we take back control of our laws, borders and money. It must secure the ability to strike new trade deals around the world. And it must also be a deal that protects jobs, our security and our precious Union.’
But talks remain deadlocked over the so-called ‘backstop’ mechanism designed to prevent a return to a hard border on Ireland.
The EU has warned it will not accept a deal that would allow the UK to withdraw unilaterally from the temporary arrangement. A string of ministers have warned the PM that any joint ‘exit clause’ must not allow the UK to be locked into a customs union against its will.
The DUP’s deputy leader Nigel Dodds issued a fresh warning that Mrs May will ‘run into trouble ... if she does not stick to her word’.
Meanwhile, Labour splits over Brexit widened yesterday after Sir Keir Starmer declared Brexit ‘can be stopped’ – in direct contradiction to leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The shadow Brexit secretary raised the prospect of backing a second referendum. It came hours after Mr Corbyn told German newspaper Der Spiegel: ‘We can’t stop it. The referendum took place. Article 50 has been triggered.’
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