Pressure is on to secure deal for leaving EU
Hammond issues warning as talks begin
THE START of negotiations to secure Britain’s divorce from the European Union has prompted stark warnings from senior figures in Westminster that the Government must push ahead with a deal or face political turmoil escalating to unprecedented levels.
Brexit Secretary David Davis is heading to Brussels today for a one-day meeting with its chief negotiator Michel Barnier to start formal negotiations.
Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly insisted the Government is prepared to walk away from the talks, claiming no deal is better than a bad deal.
But the nine-strong negotiating team, which includes the most senior civil servants at the Government’s Brexit department, is facing increasing pressure to secure a deal with their European counterparts if Britain’s already chaotic political scene is not to be plunged into further turmoil.
Chancellor Philip Hammond insisted there must be transitional arrangements to avoid a “cliff edge”, and he indicated temporary measures could be in place for a couple of years before a final deal is sealed.
The Chancellor added: “What we put in place may not be a single arrangement that endures forever, it may be an arrangement which lasts for a couple of years as a temporary measure before we get to the long-term agreed status quo.
“We’re leaving the EU and because we are leaving the EU, we will be leaving the single market and by the way, we will be leaving the customs union.”
He added: “It’s a statement of common sense that if we are going to radically change the way we work together, we need to get there via a slope, not a cliff edge.”
Mr Hammond stressed he would not agree to a deal that would “destroy” Britain, although he added: “No deal would be a very, very bad outcome for Britain, but there is a possible worse outcome and that is a deal that is deliberately structured to suck the lifeblood out of our economy over a period of time.”
The scale of the challenges ahead were clearly demonstrated by the Government’s announcement at the weekend that the Queen’s Speech next year is being ditched to ease the way in Parliament for new Brexit laws.
In a highly unusual move, the parliamentary session is being doubled to two years. Commons leader Andrea Leadsom said this would give MPs and peers the maximum time possible to scrutinise legislation taking the UK out of the European Union.
It means the Government will not put forward a new legislative programme next year.
The Conservatives delayed this year’s Queen’s Speech as the party held discussions with the DUP to thrash out an agreement on propping up the minority government.
A formal deal has yet to be secured but Tory sources have maintained there is a “broad agreement” on the principles of the speech, and State Opening will now take place on Wednesday – two days later than originally scheduled.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Sir Vince Cable claimed that there is still huge uncertainty over the path the Brexit negotiations will take.
The York-born MP for Twickenham, who was re-elected to Parliament on June 8, said: “The Chancellor stated that British exporters need arrangements as close as possible to the ones they currently enjoy. And he is right.
“As David Davis boards the plane to negotiate Brexit on behalf of the Government, it is unclear what the Government’s position actually is.
“There is a growing consensus across the parties, in business and amongst the public, that an extreme ‘hard’ Brexit of the kind put forward by Theresa May at Lancaster House is no longer politically viable and would be economically disastrous.”