MAY’S RED LINE ON MASS MIGRATION
Tories agree curb on free movement must be top priority in Brexit talks
ENDING mass immigration from Europe will be a ‘red line’ in Brexit negotiations, Theresa May’s Cabinet ruled yesterday.
Ministers reached the consensus that any exit deal ‘must mean controls on the numbers of people who come to Britain from Europe’, government sources said.
They also agreed the need to ‘push ahead’ with Brexit, with neither pro-EU MPs or Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon being given any chance to delay the start of negotiations.
The decision to end free movement, taken at a Cabinet away day at Chequers, follows an outpouring of public anger about the EU’s open- door policy during the referendum campaign. It means that Britain is almost certain to leave the EU’s single market, although ministers will try to negotiate good access for exporters.
And it kills off speculation that Britain could adopt a deal similar to those struck by Norway and Switzerland, which accept free movement in return for access to the single market. Officials had been asked to examine whether existing models could work for Britain.
But a spokesman for Mrs May said ministers had decided against pursuing any such deal. The spokesman said there was ‘a decisive view that the model we are seeking is one unique to
‘We’re actually going to deliver on this’
the United Kingdom and not an off-the-shelf solution. This must mean controls on the numbers of people who come to Britain from Europe but also a positive outcome for those who wish to trade goods and services’.
Mrs May also confirmed that she would not trigger formal exit negotiations under Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty until next year.
But a source indicated there would be little further delay, saying there was ‘a strong emphasis on pushing ahead to Article 50 to lead Britain successfully out of the European Union – with no need for a parliamentary vote’.
Mrs May summoned the Cabinet to the Prime Minister’s country retreat yesterday to hammer out the principles that will underpin the coming Brexit negotiations.
Opening the Chequers meeting, she confirmed there would be no second referendum on Britain’s EU membership, saying: ‘We must continue to be very clear that Brexit means Brexit, that we’re going to make a success of it. That means there’s no second referendum; no attempts to sort of stay in the EU by the back door; that we’re actually going to deliver on this.’
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman added: ‘ The Cabinet reiterated the Government’s commitment to fiscal discipline and living within our means. Ministers agreed that we should be seizing the opportunity of Brexit to confirm the UK’s place as one of the great trad- ing nations in the world, fostering entrepreneurialism and setting out a long-term vision for the country.
‘They also agreed on the vital need to increase productivity and the importance of doing more to foster economic growth and industrial development in regions up and down the country.’
In a phone call yesterday with Norwegian PM, Erna Solberg, Mrs May confirmed that the UK was unlikely to follow Norway’s lead and would focus instead on ‘what is going to work best for the UK and what is going to work for the European Union, rather than necessarily pursuing an existing model’.
Brexit is also set to dominate the Tory conference next month. Ministers agreed yesterday that the first day will focus on ‘global Britain’, with an emphasis on showing the world that Britain is ‘more outward-looking than ever before’. ÷ A poll last night showed that Mrs May retains a commanding lead over Labour. The ICM survey for the Guardian gave the Tories a 14-point lead, with the Conservatives on 41 per cent and Labour on 27. Ukip are third on 13 per cent, with the Lib Dems still stuck in single figures on nine. Government sources insist Mrs May will not hold a snap General Election, despite recent polling.
THIS paper draws huge encouragement from Theresa May’s Cabinet pep talk at Chequers, in which she insisted that regaining control of our borders must be a ‘red line’ in negotiations for Brexit.
Striking exactly the right note of optimism, she told ministers: ‘We must be clear we are going to make a success of it. That means no second referendum, no attempts to stay in the EU by the back door; we are going to deliver it.’
She is right, too, in refusing to give Parliament any chance to stop her from invoking Article 50, which will start the two-year countdown to withdrawal.
Indeed, it would be a scandal if MPs – who voted by six to one to call the referendum – were allowed to frustrate the wishes of 17.4million voters, simply because the Westminster village didn’t get the answer it wanted.
But while Mrs May’s fighting talk does her credit, let there be no illusions about the opposition she will have to surmount if Britain is to be truly free of Brussels.
At home and abroad, she is surrounded by plotters determined to ensure that Brexit means anything but Brexit. Take former Tory minister Anna Soubry, who is so out of touch she refuses to accept that the referendum result was a vote for curbs on EU immigration!
Mrs May must trust her own instincts. True, Britain’s rejection of free movement will almost certainly mean leaving the EU single market. But with youth unemployment among some of that market’s members reported yesterday at a terrifying 50 per cent, is belonging to it really such a boon?