May must be clear on the end of transition

Just a few weeks after Tory MPS were praising Theresa May for negotiating her way through phase one of the Brexit talks, the mood has suddenly darkened. Last night the flag of rebellion was raised by Jacob Rees-mogg as the arrangements for the transition to the UK’S departure from the EU became a serious fault-line in the Conservative Party. The Somerset MP, who chairs the European Research Group of backbenchers, clashed on Wednesday with David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, at a Commons committee hearing. His concern is that during the two-year “implementation” period the UK will potentially have to accept new EU laws, pay money to Brussels and be subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

He calls this a “vassal” status because, unlike now, we would have no say in the affairs of the EU but would still be a member in all but name. Mr Davis objected to the term vassal state but did not demur from Mr Rees-mogg’s analysis. However, the Government’s position, which he is due to outline further in a speech today, is that this is the price to be paid to ensure a smooth exit. At the end, we will be out and in the meantime can begin negotiating trade deals.

Mr Rees-mogg is correct to regard these arrangements as unsatisfactory, though Leave MPS cannot only now have understood the logic of the Government’s position. The UK will, uniquely, be an independent nation subject to a foreign court. It is also possible that the EU will rush through laws damaging to the UK during the transition period, for instance a financial transaction tax, though ministers believe this can be blocked.

After the intervention of Downing Street, Mr Davis’s speech is expected to be more opaque about the implications of transition. Does this mean mirroring the EU is no longer the Government’s policy, or that it is just not expedient to talk about it? This debate must be as open as possible. The Government has committed to a transition period to give UK laws, businesses and other EU countries time to adapt.

Is Mr Rees-mogg now suggesting another approach that would both avoid a Tory split and get through Parliament? The objective, after all, is to leave the EU; triggering a political crisis over transitional arrangements could jeopardise Brexit. However, Mrs May needs to give an absolute guarantee that at the end of the two years the breach will be complete. Out means out.