Rees-mogg backs Boris’s Super canada plan
Steven Swinford
Gordon Rayner
JACOB REES-MOGG has compared Theresa May’s Chequers plan to the Charge of the Light Brigade as he said she was leading “a brave and mistaken dash against all the odds”.
The Tory MP said that with Eurosceptics, Brussels and the Labour Party all trying to “storm” Mrs May’s Brexit plan, she should use her Conservative Party conference speech next week to announce a switch to negotiating a Canada-style deal.
Writing in this newspaper, Mr Reesmogg, the leader of a 60-strong group of Brexiteers who have vowed to vote against any Chequers-based deal, throws his weight behind Boris Johnson’s “Super canada” deal, as revealed in The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
It comes as a group of 200 business leaders has written to The Telegraph demanding a Canada-style free trade agreement with the EU. The Alliance of British Entrepreneurs describes Chequers as a “muddled compromise that suits no one” which is “doomed to fail”.
Meanwhile, Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, accused the EU of driving Britain towards a no-deal Brexit to “punish” the country, in an interview with The Telegraph.
It turned out Theresa May didn’t have to wait for the Boris bomb to be dropped in the middle of the Tory party conference, after all. By publishing his own Brexit blueprint for “chucking Chequers” in this newspaper yesterday, the former foreign secretary has managed to overshadow the entire four-day conference in Birmingham rather than just the day he planned to give his rivalrous speech.
Yet while Mrs May could be forgiven for regarding Mr Johnson as the biggest threat to her leadership after he accused her of “lacking conviction” and “failing disgracefully” in the Brexit negotiations, it is Boris’s own nemesis who could prove a greater menace.
According to insiders, it is not the boisterous blond Brexiteer who is swaying opinion against Chequers around the Cabinet table but the politician once dubbed the “politest
‘They’re taking Michael’s lead in being silent assassins. They’re also looking to him for intellectual cover. And Michael does love to “educate” ’
man in the House of Commons”. Indeed, such is the extent of Michael Gove’s influence that some mischievous backbenchers have taken to calling his Cabinet disciples “Govoids” in recognition of their seemingly unwavering devotion to the Brexiteer brainbox.
One senior MP told The Daily Telegraph: “If you look at some of the Leavers in the Cabinet who have stayed pretty schtum – Penny Mordaunt, Esther Mcvey, Andrea Leadsom – it’s because they’ve become Govoids. They’re taking Michael’s lead in being silent assassins. They’re also looking to him for intellectual cover. And Michael does love to ‘educate’.”
It seems the former education secretary has also been trying to school Dominic Raab in the art of what one observer described as “pretending you want Canada but in fact pushing for Norway”. Apparently the Brexit Secretary is yet to be persuaded, a reflection, perhaps, of Mr Raab’s close relationship with his predecessor David Davis, who refers to his former protégé as “my boy”.
Yet while Mr Gove may have remained remarkably below radar throughout Mrs May’s recent hokey cokey with Brussels (in, out, etc), behind the scenes the softly spoken Environment Secretary has been pulling the strings in the direction of the deal that would see Britain leave the EU, join the European Free Trade Association (Efta) and then become the 31st full member of the European Economic Area (EEA). He reportedly discussed the idea last month, apparently arguing it was better to adopt such an interim arrangement than to leave the EU without a deal.
Naturally his fellow Brexiteers are incredulous at the idea Britain should be parked in a form of “Brino” (Brexit In Name Only) where we must obey EU rules but have no say over them. They are also unconvinced by Mr Gove’s theory that he would then try to loosen the shackles after Brexit Day on March 29, 2019 – provided he is in No10.
One leading Brexiteer told The Telegraph: “It is completely pie-in-thesky thinking by Michael, who appears to have taken leave of his senses.”
Another described Mr Gove as “deluded” although the idea has appealed to some in the Cabinet, and has the backing of George Freeman, who chaired Mrs May’s policy board until his resignation last November.
A source close to Ms Leadsom confirmed that she had been in conversation with her successor at the environment department, while David Gauke, the Justice Secretary, is also taking his proposals seriously, because he doesn’t believe a Canada-style deal solves the Irish border issue.
Yet having knifed Boris in the back in the 2016 leadership race which put Mrs May into power, Mr Gove is still treated with suspicion by colleagues.
Many cite his continued close relationship with Dominic Cummings, the former campaign director of Vote Leave, who is increasingly regarded as “less of a maverick and more of a maniac”, according to one insider.
Mr Gove has been further isolated by the breakdown of his relationship with David Cameron, who is reportedly plotting revenge on his former ally in his forthcoming memoirs. The two men are not believed to have spoken since Britain voted for Brexit in 2016, abruptly ending Mr Cameron’s political career.
So, perhaps it is not surprising that Cameron acolytes Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid, along with Gavin Williamson, are putting their eggs in a “Canada plus” basket, knowing it is much more popular with the party faithful than Chequers or Norway.
As one well-placed observer put it: “Michael has tried to be too clever and ended up in the worst position of the lot...he’s been pitch rolling an EEA deal but no one wants it. He’s been trying to triangulate the party by suggesting the ERG [European Research Group] is too extreme and that Remainers are useless and his is the only third way. Everyone thinks he’s betrayed everyone right, left and centre so it’s hard to see how he is going to galvanise support.”
Another source added: “The trouble with Michael’s ideas is that they are perceived by those inside and outside Cabinet as being about leadership rather than Brexit.”
Weirdly, although Mrs May is facing unprecedented pressure from all wings, the Cabinet mood is largely supportive, despite disagreements.
“No one in Cabinet thinks it’s the PM’S fault that we’re in the situation we’re in,” said one insider. “They are fuming about [Europe adviser] Olly Robbins and think he should fall on his sword. The fact that there were mumblings for a while that Chequers wouldn’t get through the EU and yet he didn’t say anything and let her shoot herself in the foot...this has become about encouraging the PM to change her own mind and lending their support to do that. There’s no sense whatsoever that she needs to go, just that she needs to change her mind. A Canada-style deal seems to be gaining popularity.”
Indeed, some in Cabinet, like Brexiteer Chris Grayling, have been urging Mrs May to simply walk away. A source close to the Transport Secretary said: “Chris believes there is a large majority in Cabinet who think the PM should walk away if the EU is not willing to compromise on the Northern Ireland border.”
A large majority, perhaps – but not a complete consensus. Chancellor Philip Hammond and Business Secretary Greg Clark, the Cabinet’s resident Remainiacs, are doing everything to keep the UK as closely aligned with the EU as possible. A source close to the Chancellor revealed: “He’s only supporting Chequers because the PM is supporting it.” If Mr Hammond came out for a Norway-style deal, it would certainly strengthen Mr Gove’s hand although they are not natural bedfellows. Mr Hammond has apparently never forgiven Mr Gove for the £350million Brexit bus pledge and rebuked him in August when he called for more green taxes, such as a 25p levy on disposable coffee cups.
Mr Gove is due to give an interview to a newspaper tomorrow. Having criticised Boris for not being “across the detail” it will be interesting to gauge his reaction to his former stablemate’s Iea-backed blueprint. For it seems the PM will only be forced to drop Chequers once the Govoids rage against the machine.