WE’RE FRIENDS REUNITED... MICHAEL GOVE AND GREG CLARK’S PLEDGE TO JOIN FORCES FOR BRITAIN

One is a staunch Brexiteer, the other a steadfast Remainer. But in this extraordinary declaration, the former arch foes join forces to pledge . . .

WE’RE old friends. We agree on a great deal. But recently, we were divided on one of the biggest issues this country faces – our future in Europe. Greg grew up in industrial Middlesbrough, Michael in the port city of Aberdeen. Both of us are the first in our families to go to university and both of us are Conservatives because we believe in opportunity and we believe in Britain.

But we were on different sides in the EU referendum. Greg argued to Remain, Michael to Leave.

Now we are both Ministers in Theresa May’s Government and are determined to honour that result, to make it work and to secure a brighter future for Britain outside the EU.

And we both recognise that involves compromises. In a country that voted 52:48 to leave, we need both to deliver on the Referendum verdict but also to respect the concerns of all citizens. We need to make sure we take advantage of new opportunities offered by life outside the EU and safeguard important economic relationships with our close neighbours and trading partners.

Delivering on the Referendum means giving Parliament and the British people the final say on our laws, thus securing space for British entrepreneurs to innovate and create new jobs, allowing us to control migration so we can welcome the most talented people to our shores, creating new trading opportunities for British business, getting rid of the wasteful and bureaucratic Common Agricultural Policy, and taking back control of our territorial waters so we can revive our fishing industries and our coastal communities. But we also know that in the negotiations we’re undertaking with the EU, there has to be give and take.

Access to any other country’s markets depends on accepting some common rules and standards. And the particular web of relationships that exists between citizens of the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom needs careful handling to preserve the political and economic gains of recent years.

When we met at Chequers on Friday, we were acutely aware of the need to agree on a realistic approach that respected all these priorities. We were also aware that the clock is ticking and we need to make progress in our negotiations with the EU to secure the best-available outcome in advance of our departure in March 2019.

The plan we agreed at Chequers allows us to take advantage of significant new freedoms available to us outside the EU, while safeguarding access for existing industries to European markets. It’s a balanced package that creates space for innovation but also respects realities on the ground.

All trade deals involve tradeoffs. At the heart of the new relationship we are proposing with our European neighbours is a UK-EU free trade area, with a common rule book for goods. This would be complemented by a customs model designed to facilitate smooth access to each other’s markets.

Taken together, these measures would ensure frictionless access to each other’s markets for goods including food and drink, our biggest manufacturing sector. Our proposals respect the need to safeguard the integrated and highly efficient supply chains and justin-time processes that have been developed over the last 40 years. That provides stability for manufacturing sectors like car-making and chemicals, and helps safeguard the jobs in those industries.

We would maintain influence over technical standards through continued membership of the European Standards Organisations. And, most importantly, Parliament would have a lock with the ability to reject any new rule we did not want, with proportionate consequences for our future market access.

By removing the need for customs checks at the border, this plan will also respect the wishes of people across the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom for goods to circulate freely.

BUT our plan is about more than maximising our trade in goods with the EU. It is also about helping British business to seize new opportunities as we leave the EU. The Common Agricultural Policy would not be part of the rule book, and neither would food policy. So our plan will allow us to deliver a better deal for our farmers and food producers. We can redirect the support we give them to both make them more competitive and to enhance the countryside they care for. The high animal welfare and environmental standards our farmers uphold give our food a world-leading reputation. Outside the EU an even brighter future beckons.

Second, as we set out in the White Paper earlier this week, leaving the EU creates a sea of opportunity for our fishing industry, so we will leave the Common Fisheries Policy and take back control of our waters. This means that the UK will decide who comes into our seas and who fishes here once we leave the European Union.

Third, the free trade area will cover goods but not services. So the economic partnership we are proposing will give us greater regulatory freedom on services, while allowing people to continue to travel overseas to carry out business. This means our plan will ensure Britain is best placed to capitalise on the industries of the future, in line with our modern Industrial Strategy.

Finally, our plan also includes a far-reaching security partnership that will ensure continued close co-operation with our allies across Europe, while enabling us to seize the opportunities of an independent foreign and defence policy.

As we have shown flexibility to agree this generous proposal, we hope EU nations ask their negotiators to show similar flexibility and generosity.

We are united across Cabinet in believing that the time has now come for the EU to move towards us. We are also united in recognising that now we have developed a plan for a deal, so we must step up our plans if there is no deal.

By making clear that we are ready for every eventuality, we can argue with confidence for the best deal for Britain. And by arguing for that deal as one united Cabinet, Government and Party behind our Prime Minister, we stand the very best chance of securing the best future for our children.

The time has now come for the EU to move towards us