UK govt ‘divided’ on free movement
Hammond’s plan slammed
LONDON, July 30, (Agencies): Allowing free movement of people after Britain leaves the European Union would not “keep faith” with the Brexit vote, the international trade secretary said, underling divisions in the government over the issue.
Liam Fox told the Sunday Times that senior government ministers had not reached a consensus on retaining free movement of people for a transitional period, a proposal outlined by finance minister Philip Hammond on Friday.
Hammond had said should be no immediate changes to immigration or trading rules when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019, and the status quo could endure until mid-2022.
“If there have been discussions on that, I have not been party to them,” Fox told the newspaper.
“I have not been involved in any discussion on that, nor have I signified my agreement to anything like that.”
Divisions between ministers over Brexit strategy have become more open after Prime Minister Theresa May lost her majority in an early election she called in June. With May away on holiday, the debate has intensified.
Hammond has led a push within the government to secure a business-friendly Brexit that avoids a sudden change in 2019 in the relationship between Britain and the EU, which buys nearly half the country’s exports.
Fox had previously said he backed a transition agreement to smooth Britain’s exit from the trading bloc, but on Sunday he indicated that free movement should not continue.
Control
“We made it clear that control of our own borders was one of the elements we wanted in the referendum, and unregulated free movement would seem to me not to keep faith with that decision,” he told the Sunday Times.
Fox, who campaigned for Britain to leave the EU in last year’s referendum, said any transitional deal needed to be jointly agreed by senior ministers.
“It can’t just be made by an individual or any group within the cabinet,” he said.
An ally of British foreign minister Boris Johnson also came out against Hammond’s plan on Sunday.
Gerard Lyons, a former economic adviser to Johnson when he was London mayor, said a transition period should last for no more than two years.
“Many of the ‘risks’ being highlighted about Brexit are perceived risks, not real risks. And a two-year transition would alleviate many concerns,” Lyons said in a Sunday Telegraph newspaper column.
A growing number of other ministers have said they agree with the need for a transition period but Johnson — who has advocated a tough approach to the Brexit negotiations — has been silent on the issue recently.
Late on Friday, Hammond and Johnson issued a joint statement saying they were “working together to take the UK out of the EU” and its single market, customs union and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. The statement made no mention of transitional arrangements.
With Prime Minister Theresa May out of the country on holiday, Hammond said Friday that there was “broad acceptance” in cabinet of a postBrexit transitional period, extending current freedom of movement arrangements for up to three years.
David Jones, a former junior minister in the Brexit department, branded Hammond’s transition plans “deeply dangerous”.
He accused the finance minister of “going on manoeuvres” while May, weakened by the June general election, was on holiday in Italy.
“All this agitation by the chancellor and his allies is hugely discourteous to her and undermines her authority,” Jones said in The Mail On Sunday newspaper.
Lyons has criticised the Brexit transition plans of finance minister Philip Hammond, in the latest sign of tensions within the government over how Britain should leave the European Union.
Threat
Lyons described concern about a “cliff-edge” Brexit as “alarmist talk” similar to the fear of the Y2K bug threat to computers at the turn of the millennium.
Lyons also said a transition period, between Britain leaving the EU in 2019 and the start of its new, long-term relationship with the bloc, should last for no more than two years, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
Hammond said on Friday the transition could last for up to three years.
“Many of the ‘risks’ being highlighted about Brexit are perceived risks, not real risks. And a two-year transition would alleviate many concerns,” the Sunday Telegraph quoted Lyons as saying in a the column he wrote for the newspaper.
In related development, Scotland has called for Scotch to be defined in UK law so its vital whisky industry can be protected after Brexit.
Scottish Economy Secretary Keith Brown has written to officials asking for strong legal protections for the industry, which is worth around 4 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) in exports. A European Union definition of whisky currently protects sales from substandard products — but EU laws will no longer apply to Britain after the country exits the bloc in 2019.
Brown’s comments Sunday came after Britain’s International Trade Secretary Liam Fox visited the US this week for trade talks.
Brown said the US has voiced support for relaxing the definition of whisky, which he said would open the market to products that don’t meet the current standard.