Boris and Gove set for Cabinet showdown on customs union
BORIS JOHNSON, Michael Gove and Liam Fox will this week warn against joining a customs union with the EU after Brexit in a potentially “explosive” Cabinet confrontation.
The three Eurosceptic Cabinet ministers will say that Britain must be free to strike trade deals after it leaves the European Union as the issue is debated for the first time by senior members of the Government.
It came as Jacob Rees-mogg, a senior Eurosceptic Tory MP, was caught up in a fracas while giving a speech at a university and was pushed as he tried to calm hostile protesters.
Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, and Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, have argued for a new customs union to limit the loss of trade with Europe and avoid a hard border in Ireland.
However, Eurosceptics argue that such a move would severely limit Britain’s ability to strike trade deals with non-eu countries and take advantage of the opportunities of Brexit.
Theresa May yesterday refused to rule out signing up to a customs union with the EU, with Downing Street later saying that she has an “open mind” on the issue. Mr Rees-mogg said: “They [the Cabinet] should be making it clear that they need to be out of any customs union in order to enjoy the benefits of Brexit. A vote for the customs union is a vote to make people poor.
“It’s the path to electoral oblivion; it is rolling out the red carpet for Jeremy
Corbyn. The meetings come during a critical week for Brexit talks. On Monday Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator, will meet David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, to discuss the next phase of talks.
On Tuesday, Oliver Robbins, the Prime Minister’s most senior Brexit official, will travel to Brussels to discuss transition and the future relationship.
Mrs May’s Cabinet sub-committee on Brexit will hold two critical twohour meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, which will represent the first time ministers have had the chance go make their case on the issue.
Speaking in China yesterday, the Prime Minister told Sky News: “What I want to do is ensure that we have got the best possible trade arrangements with China and with other countries around the world once we have left the European Union. I do want to do those free trade agreements. There is more trade that we can do even before we get to those free trade agreements.”
Meanwhile, Mr Rees-mogg had been due to address the Politics and International Relations Society at the University of the West of England in Bristol when the event descended into chaos.
Onlookers said he had just arrived at the event with no security when he was confronted by a group of protesters. One attendee alleged that the protesters hurled abuse at him, calling him a “Nazi,” a “fascist and a racist” while preventing him from talking. As others tried to step in, Mr Rees-mogg tried to calm his detractors down.
Last night Mr Rees-mogg said he was “absolutely fine” and had endured “worse confrontations with The Guardian. He said: “I’ve never been in a physical confrontation at all, I am a complete weed. They shouted at me but they weren’t going to hit me. They didn’t want to talk about politics, they just wanted to stop the event.
“They shouted no platform for Tory scum and other insults, but I’m of the sticks and stones school of thought.”