PM won’t give in to the Brexit doom-mongers
‘Set an example to the world’
THERESA May insisted yesterday that she will ‘not give in to the counsels of despair’ spreading negativity about Brexit.
The Prime Minister said there would be ‘ups and downs’ in negotiations, but declared that she is confident of securing a good deal as she urged Brussels to ‘get on with it’.
Speaking in the Commons, Mrs May said: ‘We cannot escape the complexity of the task ahead. We must build a new and lasting relationship, while preparing for every scenario, but with pragmatism, and calm and patient discussion, I am confident we can set an example to the world.
‘Yes, there will be ups and downs over the months ahead, but we will not be buffeted by the demands to talk tough or threaten a walk out, and we will not give in to the counsels of despair that this simply cannot be done, for this is in both the UK and EU’s interests.’
She added: ‘My message to our friends in Europe is clear. You asked us to set out what we want in more detail. We have done that. We have shown we understand your principles. We have a shared interest in getting this right, so let us get on with it.’
Updating MPs following her Mansion House speech on Brexit on Friday, Mrs May indicated that she is looking at the customs arrangements between the US and Canada as a way of solving the Irish border issue created by Brexit. Ministers last night played down claims that transatlantic flights from Britain could be disrupted after Brexit because the US is playing hardball in negotiations over airline agreements.
Britain needs to sign a new deal to replace the existing US-EU ‘ Open Skies’ agreement, but US officials are reportedly taking a tough stance that would require airlines to be majority owned in either the US or UK.
This would be problematic for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic as they would not meet this criterion. But British officials said they were hopeful this demand would be dropped.
The Department for Transport said: ‘Our discussions with the US about a new UK-US air service agreement have been positive and we have made significant progress.
‘Both sides want to conclude these discussions soon. All parties have a shared interest in ensuring that existing rights will continue.’
The US State Department said: ‘Our shared aim with the United Kingdom is to ensure the smoothest possible transition in the transatlantic market. Discussions are going well.’
Chancellor Philip Hammond told MPs that a trade agreement with the EU which excluded the UK’s financial services sector from single market access would not be credible.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, has played down the prospect of financial services being included in a free trade agreement of the type being sought by the UK, saying such an arrangement ‘doesn’t exist’.
But Mr Hammond told the Commons European scrutiny committee that if it excluded UK-based finance firms, the EU would find it impossible to relocate or replicate the facilities of the City elsewhere. Asked about suggestions that the UK would be treated like any other nonEU country in terms of access for financial services after Brexit, he said: ‘I don’t think it is credible. I don’t think it reflects the real world in which we live.’
÷Voters in London no longer believe that the Conservatives are the party of low council tax and good local services, a poll has found.
Only three in ten voters across the capital see the Tories as the party of low council tax, while just 18 per cent of those in Conservative-run boroughs think the party provides lower bills and better public services.
The report was commissioned by Tory former treasurer Lord Ashcroft ahead of local government elections in May.