Davis hints at delays to Brexit negotiations

Just what is the 1922 Committee? Also known as “the 22”, the committee of all backbench Conservative MPS meets weekly when the House of Commons is sitting. When the party is in government and the leader attends, members bang their desks in approval when the chief arrives. Where does the name come from? The committee takes its name from a meeting of Conservative MPS on 19 October 1922. The MPS successfully ended the party’s coalition with the Liberals, bringing down the government of David Lloyd George.

is in charge? It has an 18-member executive committee with a chairman, usually a senior MP, elected by committee members. The incumbent chairman is Graham Brady, who was appointed in May 2010.

does it do? The committee keeps the party informed of the backbenchers’ mood and opinion on party business. The chairman has considerable influence within the Parliamentary Party.

has it done? In October 2003 Iain Duncan Smith was dumped as leader after he lost a confidence vote by 75 votes to 90. David Davis has signalled that discussions on the UK’S exit from the European Union (EU) may not start on 19 June as anticipated.

The Brexit Secretary said the talks would take place that week, but not necessarily on the Monday.

The European Commission insisted it was “fully prepared and ready for the negotiations to start” – indicating any delay was on the British side.

In a hint at a changed approach, Mr Davis said “we will start down this process” by focusing on the divorce proceedings from the EU before moving on to trade.

Brussels has insisted talks on the so-called divorce, taking in issues including the fee the UK will have to pay to sever its ties, must make sufficient progress before any discussion on a future trade agreement could begin.

The UK Government wants the talks to take place in parallel during the Brexit process.

Theresa May had repeated- 0 Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour was used as a warning ly said during the election campaign that the Brexit talks would start 11 days after the 8 June vote, using it as a warning that Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour were not ready for the negotiations.

Mr Davis indicated there could be a slight delay before he enters the negotiating chamber.

He told Sky News: “It’s in the week of next week, basically, the first discussions.

“It may not be on the Monday because we also have got the Queen’s Speech that week and I will have to speak in that, and so on.”