Cabinet clash after Hammond says ‘no real Brexit till 2021’
A NEW Cabinet rift over the EU loomed last night after Philip Hammond was accused of backing Brussels moves to ‘delay Brexit by two years’.
The Chancellor faces a showdown with Brexit cheerleaders Boris Johnson and Michael Gove tomorrow after saying the UK would have to obey rulings by European judges until 2021 – two years after we are due to leave the EU.
The latest spat came after Mr Hammond said yesterday that although ‘technically’ the UK would leave the EU customs union and single market when we leave the EU in March 2019, a two-year ‘transition’ would ‘replicate the status quo’. Trade and immigration rules would stay the same until 2021.
Asked during a trade mission to China if Britain would still be subject to European Court of Justice ( ECJ) rulings between 2019 and 2021, Mr Hammond replied bluntly: ‘In a word, yes.’ His comments revived the feud between Mr Hammond, who f avours a so-called ‘soft Brexit’ deal and Mr Johnson and Mr Gove who want a ‘hard Brexit’.
After approving the start of Phase Two of EU exit talks last week, Brussels laid down strict terms. They include abiding by ECJ rules during the ‘transition’ – including any new rulings – even though Britain will no longer have a say over such judgments. The EU said Britain could not sign new trade deals with non-EU nations until after March 2021 – and the prospect of a full UK-EU trade deal post 2021 is merely a ‘political declaration’ and not a firm pledge.
The Cabinet divisions are expected to surface tomorrow when Theresa May holds her first discussion on the Government’s vision of Britain’s postBrexit ‘ end state’ with her ‘war Cabinet’ of key Ministers. Former Brexit Minister David Jones urged Mr Johnson and Mr Gove to ‘rein in’ Mr Hammond during the Cabinet’s Brexit discussions. ‘Once again, the Chancellor is too ready to do Brussels’ bidding,’ he told The Mail on Sunday. ‘Mrs May must overrule him and Brexit supporters will expect Boris Johnson and Michael Gove to rein in the Chancellor and get him to abandon his bid to overturn the referendum result.’
Fellow anti- EU Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘We cannot be an EU colony until 2021.’
Mr Hammond has separately clashed with Brexit Secretary David Davis over his support for a Canada-style trade agreement, which the Chancellor thinks is ‘bonkers’ because it would not align Britain closely enough to the EU.
In the leaked letter written by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove to Mrs May in October, they stated that during the transition period ‘there should be no question of the UK being obliged to implement significant new EU rules’.
According to one official, Mrs May could try to head off the ECJ ‘transition’ revolt by insisting Britain would only obey new rules discussed before Britain leaves the EU in 2019.
DURING his visit to China, Mr Hammond announced that David Cameron had taken a job leading an investment initiative agreed between the UK and the country. The ex-PM will take charge of the £750 million fund to improve roads, ports and rail networks linking China with its trade partners.