Davis: EU deal must be ‘pretty substantive’

THE GOVERNMENT will find it “difficult” to get any Brexit deal through Parliament unless it has achieved a “pretty substantive” agreement on future relations with the EU by the autumn, David Davis has said.

The Brexit Secretary and Haltemprice and Howden MP played down suggestions that a framework expected in October will be little more than a broad political agreement, with the bulk of details left to be worked out during the 21-month transition period following Brexit Day in March 2019.

Instead, he said the Government aimed to have large amounts of detail – maybe even including legal wording – “nailed down” by the formal date of Brexit.

Asked during a hearing of the House of Lords EU Committee what state the future relationship framework would be in by the time Parliament votes on the withdrawal agreement this autumn, Mr Davis replied: “We take the view that it has got to be pretty substantive. Parliament will vote more than once on the withdrawal agreement and I would be surprised if parliamentarians are happy to vote for the expenditure of £35bn to £39bn without knowing what we are getting for it.”

Mr Davis warned the UK could be left “in a sort of limbo” if it is not able to complete a future relationship deal with the EU by the end of the transition period in December 2020. Asked how far talks on the future relationship agreement will have got by Brexit Day in March 2019, Mr Davis told the committee: “We absolutely need to have ratification completed before the implementation period is over.”