‘Gang of five’ politicians seek Brexit Changes
Threats to resign held over head of PM May
LONDON • A “gang of five” eurosceptic cabinet ministers will try to force British Prime Minister Theresa May into a last-minute change to the Brexit deal as the price for withdrawing their threats to resign.
The five senior politicians believe it is not too late for May to go back to Brussels and demand a unilateral exit mechanism from the socalled “backstop” arrangement over Northern Ireland — the most contentious clause in her deal to pull Britain out of the EU.
Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, who stepped back from the brink of resigning Friday, will meet Andrea Leadsom (energy minister), Chris Grayling (Leader of the House), Penny Mordaunt (international development) and Liam Fox (international trade) over the next two days to agree the terms of their ultimatum.
Gove, Leadsom, Mordaunt and Grayling all made it clear on Thursday that they were contemplating following Dominic Raab (Brexit Secretary) and Esther McVey (work and pensions) out of the cabinet in protest at the proposed deal, which could have sealed May’s fate. Instead, they handed May a lifeline by agreeing to stay, but the prime minister has been left in no doubt that resignations will follow within two weeks if their demands are not met.
The big stumbling block has been preventing the re-introduction of a “hard” border — checkpoints — between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The “backstop” is May’s insurance policy that allows the border to remain open until a final, comprehensive trade agreement is finalized in the next few years. But eurosceptics fear that the arrangement will become permanent with a loss of sovereignty for Britain.
A plan by Brexiteer Tory MPs to force a vote of no-confidence lost momentum Friday as the number of letters required to trigger a ballot — 48 — failed to materialize.
As of Friday night, 23 MPs had publicly declared “no confidence” in the PM, leaving the plotters 25 short, but Downing Street is braced for more letters on Monday after MPs were expected to use the weekend to gauge the mood in their constituencies.
May tried to seize back the initiative Friday by appointing Amber Rudd, the former home secretary, as McVey’s replacement, and promoting Stephen Barclay, the junior health minister, to Brexit Secretary. Barclay was May’s third choice after two other ministers refused the position.
Crucially, May stripped the Brexit post of responsibility for the negotiations with the EU. Instead, Barclay — who supported Leave in 2016 — will focus on the domestic legislation to prepare Britain for its scheduled departure in March.
Rudd immediately took to the airwaves to declare: “This is not a time for changing our leader. This is a time for pulling together, for making sure we remember who we are here to serve, who we are here to help — the whole of the country.”
May is sticking resolutely to her strategy — that this is the best deal that can be done — in the face of widespread hostility from opposition parties, her supposed allies in Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, and members of her own Conservatives. She took three hours of questions in the House of Commons on Thursday in a session that made it clear she’ll struggle to secure the approval she needs from the chamber. If she fails, the risk is that Britain tumbles out of the bloc in March without any agreement to smooth the process.
The Confederation of British Industry threw its weight behind the prime minister’s strategy and issued a warning on Friday to lawmakers who oppose it. The risk of no deal is already causing economic harm as companies of all sizes stockpile goods and components and move jobs and investment out of Britain, it said.
“Despite the political noise at Westminster, the real life implications for people and regions across the U.K. are what really matter,” according to the CBI. “For the sake of the prosperity of our country, we must not go backwards.”
Another scenario — a nightmare for some — is also possible: the Conservatives fall, a general election is called and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn is elected prime minister.
“What keeps families inside and outside the U.K. awake at night is the risk of a Labour government,” Dominic Samuelson, chief executive officer of Campden Wealth, told Bloomberg News. “All bets are off if that comes to fruition.”
A Labour government could impose higher income and corporate taxes and introduce a wealth tax. Corbyn’s rise would directly impact family decision-making, including investment strategies and the locations of their businesses and family offices, according to Samuelson.
British billionaire Peter Hargreaves, one of Brexit’s biggest financial backers, said he expects an exodus of entrepreneurs if Corbyn takes power.
“I’m too old to leave, but there will be people who will not be able to tolerate extreme socialism,” said Hargreaves, 72. “Everyone’s talking about the fear of the extreme right. The extreme left’s worse. He’s far more dangerous.”