Euro elections WILL go ahead
Poll farce to cost us £150m as talks are held up again and again...
BRITAIN has run out of time to avoid taking part in the European elections, the Government admitted last night – and the cost of holding them could soar to £150million.
As talks on a compromise withdrawal deal with Labour dragged on, Theresa May’s deputy David Lidington yesterday gave the first official confirmation that Brexit will not happen before the European Parliament elections on May 23.
While he added that ministers still hoped a deal was possible in time to prevent the 73 newly elected MEPs having to take their seats on July 1, he conceded it may not actually get ‘done and dusted’ until Parliament breaks for its summer recess in July. This would give the UK another possible exit date of August 1, meaning the British MEPs would have to take their seats in the European Parliament for at least a few weeks.
Yesterday, Downing Street said Mrs May ‘deeply regrets that we have not left the EU on time’, adding: ‘She has tried and tried and tried again to get an agreement through, but it has not been possible.’
Mrs May had previously described the prospect of new European elections, three years after the UK voted Leave, as ‘ unacceptable’. Senior Tories predict the party will face a drubbing at the hands of Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party.
Despite ministers insisting the Government is working ‘urgently’ to take the UK out of the EU, MPs were given a week off for Easter and Brexit has barely featured in Parliament. Yesterday, MPs spent the evening debating proposals to ban the use of wild animals in circuses.
Last night, Labour sources indicated that talks on the withdrawal agreement had been ‘tense at times’, with Labour’s Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell demanding to know when the Government was going to start making concessions on their central demand for a customs union.
The PM’s official spokesman said: ‘In relation to the parliamentary timetable, we would look to complete this ideally by June 30, but if not then, by summer recess.’
And last night it emerged that the cost of the European Parliament elections could soar to £150million – up from £108million when they were last held in 2014. The higher bill results from the fact that some costs, such as polling stations and cards, were split last time with local elections held on the same day.
Under the terms of the latest agreement with the EU, the UK has until October 31 to leave, although this could be extended further.
Cabinet yesterday discussed whether to continue with costly No Deal preparations – which have reached £4billion so far. Sources said Business Secretary Greg Clark argued that, with Parliament opposed to No Deal, there was no point, but other ministers said it was wrong to take No Deal off the table entirely. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said some preparations had to continue, as No Deal remained possible in the autumn.
The latest Brexit slippage was confirmed as ministers resumed talks with Labour on a possible compromise deal. Mr Lidington, who led yesterday’s talks for the Government, said ministers were ‘redoubling our efforts and talks with MPs of all parties’ in the wake of last week’s local elections, which saw the Tories lose more than 1,300 seats.
Labour’s Brexit spokesman Sir Keir said: ‘Talks have been going on for some time, but I think it has now come to a crunch time where the Government has to decide whether it’s serious about significant changes capable of actually carrying a majority in the House of Commons.’
The two sides have reached tentative agreement on issues such as preserving workers’ rights but remain deadlocked on whether to pursue a customs union after Brexit.
Some senior Tory MPs warned that the Government might have to offer a second referendum to break the deadlock. Former Tory culture minister Ed Vaizey said he was ‘warming to the idea’ of a second referendum, as there was a danger that any deal struck by the Labour and Tory leaderships would be seen by voters as ‘illegitimate’.
Brussels made a ‘mistake’ by not intervening to ‘destroy the lies’ peddled in the Brexit referendum campaign, JeanClaude Juncker said yesterday. The European Commission president said he now regrets following the advice of David Cameron to not get involved, which he believes led to Britain voting to leave the European Union. He added: ‘I was wrong to be silent at an important moment.’