Welby tells May: End Brexit poison using cross-party support
THE Archbishop of Canterbury today adds to the mounting political pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May by calling for her to appoint a cross-party commission to advise her on the Brexit negotiations.
In an article for today’s Mail on Sunday, Justin Welby puts Brexit on a par with the two world wars – when Britain was run by coalitions – and suggests the same spirit of consensual government should be applied to negotiations with Brussels to ‘draw much of the poison from the debate’.
The Church of England’s most senior cleric contrasts the inspiring ‘spirit of Grenfell Tower’ with the divisive ‘zero-sum, winner takes all’ Brexit arguments in Westminster. He writes: ‘We need the politicians to find a way of neutralising the temptation to take minor advantage domestically from these great events.
‘We must develop a forum or commission or some political tool which can hold the ring for the differences to be fought out, so that a commonly agreed negotiating aim is achieved.’
The archbishop’s dramatic intervention comes after last week’s humiliating start to the UK’s Brexit negotiations, with Brussels dismissing our opening offer to protect the rights of 3.2 million EU citizens living in the UK as vague, inadequate and ‘below expectations’.
It will add weight to the demands of ‘soft’ Brexit supporters – who hope a Brexit Commission could overturn Mrs May’s decision to pull out of the customs union and single market – at the start of a critical week for the Prime Minister.
Her Government will fall if she fails to win Thursday’s Commons vote on the Queen’s Speech, and negotiations
‘The future of the UK is not winner takes all’
were continuing this weekend with Northern Ireland’s DUP over an agreement to secure the support of its ten MPs.
Mrs May remains under siege on a number of fronts as leadership machinations continue.
A recent poll by YouGov found a majority, 51 per cent, in favour of Brexit being negotiated by a crossparty team.
In his article, Welby writes: ‘The future of this country is not a zerosum, winner takes all calculation but must rest on the reconciled common good arrived at through good debate and disagreement.’ The archbishop adds about the commission: ‘It would need to be cross-party and chaired by a senior politician, on Privy Council terms.
‘It could not bind Parliament, but it could draw much of the poison from the debate.’
THE Mail on Sunday today publishes two powerful pleas for mutual understanding, caution and reconciliation. One comes from a leading businessman, Simon Wolfson, the boss of Next. The other comes from the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is fascinating to see how much the worldly employer and the spiritual leader agree.
Archbishop Justin Welby identifies a great change in the national mood, especially following the tragedy of Grenfell Tower and the horrific series of terrorist attacks. He movingly praises our continuing national talents for tolerance, courage and compassion.
And both men call for a gentler, more open and generous approach to our most pressing problem – Brexit.
At a time when our political parties and institutions are divided and chastened by the Election result, this is only sensible. A sobering series of events have given us all cause to think deeply about who we are and where we are going. A year after the referendum, there is no doubt that many of us are not as sure – or as intolerant of disagreement – as we were in the heat of that often rather crude campaign.
Wise Remainers long ago conceded that the result must be respected. Wise Leavers are increasingly coming to see that, as the Archbishop says, ‘the future of this country is not a zero-sum, winner-take-all calculation, but must rest on the reconciled common good’. Lord Wolfson similarly warns that extremes ‘encourage the other side’s intransigence’.
Of course, 52 per cent is a majority. But it does not absolve that majority from persuasion or compromise. And the General Election very much failed to provide a clear majority for a hard Brexit.
The Archbishop, speaking from a position far beyond and outside politics, having nothing to gain and no ambition to fulfil, suggests a new cross-party forum, under the authority of Parliament, so that we may draw the poison out of the debate, come together over Brexit and present a united front to the EU in the crucial talks now beginning. Our MPs and political leaders should listen, and take this wise proposal very seriously indeed.