Davis urged to hold Northern Brexit summit
DAVID DAVIS is being urged to stand by his commitment to consult with Northern leaders over their priorities for Brexit, after plans to hold a summit in the summer appear to have been postponed.
The region’s MPs have suggested meetings should take place as soon as possible – potentially as early as next month – to ensure the voice of local authorities and businesses are heard throughout the Brexit process.
The call comes as British and European officials prepare for the final day of talks in the current round of formal negotiations.
However, the session has been overshadowed by a series of hostile interventions by EU figureheads, who have dismissed the UK’s position as “ambiguous” and “unsatisfactory”.
Brexit Secretary David Davis first committed to meeting with local leaders to discuss any concerns back in February. Responding to questioning by the then Labour MP Andy Burnham and the Sheffield MP Clive Betts, Mr Davis stated it was his intention to gather “all the mayors of the North” for a meeting in York.
The issue was subsequently raised by the Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake, who also urged minsters to extend the invite beyond directly-elected metro mayors to ensure Yorkshire is represented in talks.
In his response, the Brexit Minister David Jones claimed Mr Davis was planning to bring key players together “for a summit in the summer”.
With less than a week to go before Parliament returns from recess, there have been no reports of a summit or of any Government plans to meet with northern leaders.
And with expectations that a deal between the EU and UK could be finalised as early as next October, MPs are ramping up the pressure on ministers to start engaging before it is too late.
“I understand that the Secretary of State will have an awful lot on his plate with the negotiations [but] I’d like to see that meeting sooner rather than later,” Mr Hollinrake told
“David Davis is a Yorkshireman, he represents a Yorkshire constituency, I am sure he will make sure we are not disadvantaged. But making sure that the regions of England are properly represented and considered in negotiations is vital.
“I would like to see [a meeting] in September-October to be honest. Parliament resumes, then we go into the conference recess, and that seems like an ideal opportunity.”
Mr Betts, who was recently reelected as chairman of the Communities and Local Government select committee, told this paper he did not believe that a summit of metro mayors was “sufficient”. He said ministers “ought to be talking to local government and ... directly to leaders” in addition to consulting with mayors.
“There are clearly some big issues on Brexit for local government One is the fact that powers coming from the EU ought to be devolved not only to Westminster but down to local level,” he said.
“And secondly of course there are the funding issues. Once we come out ERDF and ESF funding, which goes to help areas with particular problems, wont exist any more. What is the Government going to replace it with?”
A DExEU spokesperson confirmed that the Secretary of State still intends to invite northern mayors to a meeting in Yorkshire and is “in active discussions... to finalise a date”.
“The Government is engaging extensively with regional stakeholders, and intends to continue this work throughout the exit process to identify any regional implications,” they added.