Stop selfish squabbles and unite behind May’s deal, Fox tells Tories

LIAM FOX will suggest today that Tory critics of Theresa May’s Brexit deal are being selfish, as he accuses them of failing to face up to the fact that she has had to make tough choices.

The International Trade Secretary will visit the South West as he becomes the latest Cabinet minister to support publicly the Prime Minister’s agreement ahead of the Commons vote on Dec 11.

Tory Eurosceptic MPS as well as their Remain-backing colleagues have criticised the deal, but Dr Fox will tell the Conservative Party it must unite and back the Prime Minister.

The ardent Brexiteer, who will be speaking to an audience at the Royal Portbury Dock, near Bristol, is expected to say: “The Withdrawal Agreement and the political declaration will not please everyone, and we have had some tough choices to make.

“Choices which many in Parliament, on both sides of the House, are yet to face up to.

“But the deal we’ve reached will give us a firm and stable base on which to leave the EU and build this country’s global future, a future that still encompasses Europe, of course, but also the wide, fast-growing markets beyond, with all the opportunity that entails. “The divisions of the referendum need to be consigned to the past.

“Now is the time to set aside our differences, and lead our country to a future of freedom, success and prosperity.

“In politics, we cannot always have the luxury of doing what we want for ourselves, but we have an abiding duty to do what is right for our country.”

Dr Fox is also expected to outline his vision for Britain as a post-brexit trading nation. He will say it is “time to raise our sights, and acknowledge that there is a world beyond Europe and a time beyond Brexit”.

He will also strike an upbeat tone about jobs and exports, just days after a cross-government economic analysis suggested that future growth after Brexit would be slower than if the UK stayed in the EU.

Dr Fox is expected to say: “At the time of the referendum, we were told that just voting to leave the EU would cause such an economic shock that we’d lose half a million jobs, our investors would desert us, and we would require an emergency budget to deal with the ensuing fiscal imbalance.

“What’s happened since? We’ve added over 700,000 jobs to the economy, with more people finding work than at any time in the past 40 years.

“This upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing.”