EUROSCEPTICS GAIN THE EDGE IN EU NEGOTIATIONS

DAVID DAVIS heads to Brussels next week ready to turn up the heat in the negotiations over Britain leaving the EU.

Whitehall sources say the EU Exit Secretary’s patience with the stalling tactics from the European Commission is wearing thin. While Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned repeatedly that “the clock is ticking”, British officials point out that the EU talks team is making menacing noises while failing to come up with concrete proposals for the future relationship between the UK and their bloc.

“We have published a series of papers detailing our position on EU citizens’ rights, the Irish border, settling future legal disputes and so on. When will we see something from the other side? We’re still waiting,” a source close to the Tory Cabinet minister told me.

Next week’s talks are expected to be largely technical with little potential for fireworks. But Tory Eurosceptics are increasingly convinced Mr Davis will have to walk out of talks this autumn to demonstrate that the Government will not put up with endless play-acting by Mr Barnier and his gang.

Confidence among senior Tories about taking a tough stance in the negotiations has grown following firm support from the party’s Eurosceptic backbenchers. Ministers were relieved that there was no backlash when the Government conceded this week that the EU’s Court of Justice could continue to influence UK law for a transition period for several years after leaving the EU. “We have done our best to keep our MPs up to speed with our Brexit plans,” a minister involved in the departure process told me.

Veteran Brexiteers in Tory ranks insist they are willing to be patient. “Getting Britain out of the EU has been my life’s work,” one MP said. “If it takes a few more years, it will not be problem for me as long as we achieve the ultimate goal.”

The patience from Eurosceptic ranks contrasts with an increasingly shrill tone from the anti-Brexit camp.

Pro-Brussels campaigners ended up bizarrely claiming this week that Leave voters should feel cheated because the Government’s plans for leaving the jurisdiction of the EU judges were not radical enough.

Ministers suspect such desperate babble shows the Remainer fightback is spluttering out.