Williamson told to stand firm on customs
Brexiteers tell Defence Secretary that changing sides to support PM would be ‘career suicide’
Gavin Williamson has been warned that withdrawing his opposition to an EU customs partnership would be “career suicide”. The Defence Secretary was one of two Remain supporting ministers who helped block the Prime Minister’s preferred option for a Brexit customs deal. Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, came under pressure to support plans to keep the UK in the single market after a House of Lords rebellion on the issue emboldened MPS.
GAVIN WILLIAMSON has been warned that withdrawing his opposition to an EU customs partnership would be “career suicide” amid fears Theresa May will try to “bully” him into changing his mind. The Defence Secretary was one of two Remain-supporting ministers who swapped sides during a meeting last week to help block Mrs May’s preferred option for a post-brexit customs deal with Brussels.
Mrs May has now postponed a meeting of her Brexit “war cabinet” that had been scheduled for today.
Downing Street says officials are honing the customs partnership idea, as well as a second option known as “Max Fac” – short for maximum facilitation – in the hope that ministers will be able to reach agreement on a revised plan. But Brexiteers in the Conservative Party are worried that Mrs May will simply present “customs partnership 2.0” and that she sees Mr Williamson as the key to forcing it through.
The 11-strong Brexit sub-committee was divided 6-5 against Mrs May’s preferred option, meaning it would only take one person to swap sides for her to have a majority supporting her.
One senior Brexiteer said: “There is a fear she will try to bully one of the ministers into changing position and supporting the PM’S unworkable customs plan, but everyone knows that would be career suicide.”
Downing Street sources denied that Mrs May or Gavin Barwell, her chief of staff, would be contacting Mr Williamson or Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, who also sided with Leavers in the Brexit meeting, in an attempt to persuade them to change their minds.
Opponents of the partnership, which would involve Britain collecting tariffs for the EU before companies claim rebates, have made it clear that Mrs May will face another huge battle on Tuesday if she tries to force it through.
One Cabinet source said: “The whole process is a farce and people are starting to ask very serious questions about this terrible Remainer Brexit – conducted by a Remain PM, Remain Chancellor, Remain Cabinet Secretary and Remain chief negotiator.”
The Brexit sub-committee will meet immediately after the weekly full Cabinet meeting on Tuesday but Whitehall sources have down-played expectations of a final agreement on the Government’s preferred customs plan. In the Commons yesterday, Mrs May refused to say which was her preferred option, but said: “We will need to agree customs arrangements which will ensure that we leave the customs union, that we can have an independent free trade policy, that we can maintain no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and that we have as frictionless trade with the European Union as possible.”