Deadlocked Cabinet ‘a million miles’ from Brexit agreement
THE Cabinet is still “a million miles away” from agreeing the Government’s position on Brexit after the first of two key meetings of senior ministers, The Daily Telegraph has been told.
Concern is growing within the Cabi- net over a lack of progress on such crucial issues as the Irish border and citizens’ rights, with sources saying “nothing” was agreed after two hours of discussion yesterday.
There are still “substantial divisions” between Brexiteers and Remainers in the 11-strong Brexit “war cabinet”, which will meet again today to discuss the Government’s position on a future trade deal.
The two meetings of the committee had been billed as the moment the Cabinet’s direction of travel on Brexit would finally crystallise.
But Whitehall sources said yesterday’s meeting was “flat” with “no real in-depth discussion of the issues”.
One source said: “There is mounting concern that nothing has been agreed yet. No one seems to know when this is going to be sorted out. There has been talk of the Cabinet being taken away to Chequers to thrash out an agreement on what kind of trade deal we want and how we solve the Northern Ireland issue, but nothing has been arranged. At the moment it feels like the Cabinet is a million miles away from agreeing a position.” Another source said: “The Cabinet is closer to agreeing a position on transition than it is to agreeing on the end state.
“There are some pretty substantial divisions between different members of the Cabinet on the sort of Brexit we are pursuing, and it doesn’t seem as though any of them are going to undergo a Damascene conversion any time soon.” The 11-strong Cabinet Brexit committee consists of Theresa May, David Lidington, Philip Hammond, David Davis, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Liam Fox, Amber Rudd, Gavin Williamson, Karen Bradley and Greg Clark.
The Cabinet must agree its position on the transition period before March, when the European Council next meets. David Davis then hopes to agree the terms of a trade deal by October so that it can be voted on by all 28 member states, including Britain, before Britain leaves the EU in March next year.
Any delay in agreeing Britain’s position could lead to the October deadline being pushed back, potentially increasing the chances of Britain leaving the EU without a deal.
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