Boris ‘simple minded’ on Brexit
Cabinet battle intensifies with Hammond allies claiming Foreign Secretary fails to see intricacies of leaving EU
PHILIP HAMMOND’S allies have accused Boris Johnson of being “simple minded” over Brexit and warned that the transition period may need to be extended until after the next election.
The Foreign Secretary has made clear that a Brexit “implementation period” must last no longer than two years, meaning that the UK will effectively leave the EU by 2021. However, the Chancellor and other ministers including Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, have argued that the UK will need an extra year so that businesses can adjust. That would mean the Brexit process would still not be complete by 2022 – the latest date for the next election – leaving open the possibility that the next government could water down Brexit or even try to reverse it. Allies of Mr Johnson fear Brexit could yet be “hijacked” by pro-remain MPS.
The deepening Cabinet split comes after Theresa May appeared to have brokered a truce between Mr Hammond and Mr Johnson before her speech in Florence last Friday.
However, Mr Hammond’s supporters were left infuriated at the weekend by claims that allies of Mr Johnson had thwarted the Chancellor’s push for a longer transition.
They pointed to the fact that the Prime Minister had said only that a Brexit implementation period should last for “about” two years, leaving open the possibility that it could take longer.
An ally of Mr Hammond said: “The bottom line is that this is not going to be easy, something that’s overlooked by simple minded Brexiteers like Boris. When it comes down to practicalities it may well take longer.
“Philip isn’t being ideological about it, he is pragmatic. What he wants is for it to work in the interests of the economy and the country, that is what is driving him. Boris is talking tough for the sake of it.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, yesterday announced that he favoured an open-ended post-brexit transition period lasting “as long as necessary”.
Speaking on the first day of the Labour conference, Mr Corbyn said it was “impossible” for anyone to place an “absolute figure” on how long the transition should last. However, despite conflict within the party, conference delegates yesterday elected not to hold a vote on any Brexit-related issues. The decision saved Mr Corbyn’s blushes by avoiding a damaging public row on Brexit, but reduced the party to “a laughing stock”, according to one of its own MPS.
Last week the Prime Minister set out plans for a status quo implementation phase, with the UK and EU maintaining access to each other’s markets “on current terms” and under “the existing structure of EU rules and regulations”.
It means freedom of movement will effectively continue for another four
years, with Britain paying its full contribution to Brussels of around £9 billion a year during that period.
Mr Johnson and other Eurosceptic ministers had argued previously for a six-month transition period, but compromised and agreed to a maximum two-year transition after a summer of Cabinet clashes.
The Daily Telegraph has learnt that the Prime Minister was warned at Cabinet last week that Brexit must be “done and dusted” by 2021 or risk damaging the Conservatives’ chance of winning the next election.
Priti Patel, the International Development Secretary, and Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, warned that failing to do so risked alienating Eurosceptic supporters if the Government had not delivered Brexit by then.
David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, made clear yesterday that he agreed with Mr Johnson’s position that the transition period should last “up to” two years, not longer.
Allies of Mr Johnson warned against a longer transition. One said: “Rubbing up against 2022 is a problem, the sooner it’s done the better.”
Mr Davis will today embark on a fresh round of talks in Brussels in an attempt to break the deadlock in the Brexit negotiations.
He will meet the EU’S chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, in the Belgian capital at the start of the fourth round of negotiations.
Mr Davis suggested yesterday that he believed that Mr Johnson was behaving like a “backseat driver” over Brexit. He dismissed claims that Mr
Johnson’s 4,200-word article on Brexit in The Daily Telegraph a week ago had forced Mrs May to abandon plans for a softer Brexit.
Asked about Mr Johnson’s intervention, Mr Davis said: “The policies in the Prime Minister’s speech had been coming for a long time.
“Some of them – transition – we were designing right back in the beginning of the year.
“Some of it we had been designing months ago. I don’t think there’s been any change of policy in the last few weeks.”
The Foreign Secretary also wants Britain to stop adopting any new EU rules and regulations after it formally leaves the bloc in March 2019.
He believes it is wrong for rulings from Brussels to apply in the UK during the two-year transition because Britain will no longer be involved in the decision-making process.