Fears Cabinet Brexit split is irreparable
A NEW Cabinet split over the handling of Brexit has emerged as ministers privately attacked each other over how to approach EU negotiations.
Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, has been blamed for talking down Britain’s hopes of winning a good deal and attacked for his “relentless pessimism”.
One Cabinet colleague went as far as saying that Mr Hammond, who voted to stay in the EU, should “watch his back” and could lose his job.
However friends of Mr Hammond are furious with the “nonsense and garbage” that Eurosceptics have spoken about the strength of Britain’s hand in talks. “The obligation is on the Brexit leaders to now tell the British public some hard truths,” a Treasury figure said.
The jibes, uttered behind closed doors to The Sunday Telegraph during Tory conference week, show how deep the EU rift at the top of the party remains despite a show of unity.
However, there was good news for the Conservatives last night as a former Liberal Democrat peer joined the Tories after becoming exasperated with her party’s refusal to accept the Brexit vote.
Baroness Manzoor, who led attacks over tax credit cuts, said: “Leaving the Lib Dems, where I’ve been a member for three years in the House of Lords, was tough, but it was the right thing to do. I could not support the leadership of a party that calls itself democratic and then refuses to acknowledge the will of the people in a referendum.”
Theresa May will continue her diplomatic charm offensive this week by visiting Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain for talks with other EU leaders.
The Prime Minister will soon have visited eight countries in her first three months in post – more than David Cameron and Gordon Brown combined at the beginning of their premierships.
Yet there are growing concerns that the Cabinet split over the Brexit deal cannot be bridged and there will be resignations before an EU agreement is reached.
Mr Hammond this week warned that the economy faces a
“roller-coaster” after leaving the EU and GDP could fall by 4 per cent. Recent comments suggest he sees keeping the single market as important as ending free movement of people.
Yet the so-called Three Brexiteers – Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox – and other Cabinet ministers who voted to leave the EU have put greater emphasis on immigration controls.
This week it was claimed that differences between Mr Hammond and Mr Fox, the International Trade Secretary, over whether to stay in the customs unions were insurmountable.
Other Eurosceptics have hit out at Mr Hammond’s approach. One Cabinet colleague told this newspaper he may face the sack if he continues “talking down” Britain’s prospects after it leaves the EU. His “relentless pessimism” has infuriated his colleagues who believe that Britain needs to take a positive approach to Brexit if it is to succeed, the minister said. The same source said: “He still appears to be in a state of grief [over the referendum result], he should watch his back.”
Another senior Tory MP hit out at Mr Hammond and Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, whose economic warnings over the impact of Brexit infuriated Eurosceptics.
“Philip Hammond and Mark Carney were part of Project Fear but are still in key positions. It’s clear that there will be an element of the Conservative Party looking to see a more positive attitude towards Brexit,” the MP said.
“The Tory Party is a broad church and it’s quite reasonable to have more reservations about Brexit but a clear direction is set – we are leaving the single market and making a success of it.”
However, a senior Treasury figure expressed frustration with the way leading Eurosceptics portrayed the strength of Britain’s negotiating hand before the referendum. The source said claims that the EU has more to lose than the UK is “garbage” and demanded leading Brexiteers tell the public the “truth” about the negotiating position.