DON’T BETRAY US ON BREXIT
After shock claims UK could seek closer EU ties, Tories warn...
RISHI SUNAK and Jeremy Hunt were last night warned against seeking closer ties with the EU.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor reportedly want to put the UK on the path to a ‘Swiss-style’ relationship with Brussels to boost trade.
But former Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries said voters needed stability and a guarantee that Brexit was ‘safe’. Treasury sources insisted a new EU deal was not being discussed or considered.
Mr Hunt admitted last week however that Brexit had led to trade barriers.
Asked whether rejoining the single market would boost growth, the Chancellor replied: ‘Having unfettered trade with our neighbours and countries all over the world is very beneficial to growth. I have great confidence that over the years ahead we will find outside the single market we are able to remove the vast majority of the trade barriers that exist between us and the EU.’
The prospect of a Swiss-style deal has alarmed Tories, who fear it will cost them Leave-backing voters at the next election. Mrs Dorries said: ‘Sunak needs to do more to reassure both MPs and the nation his administration totally and categorically deny any intention of even considering Swiss-style ties with Brussels. The situation is ambiguous.
‘He needs to reassure people that Brexit is safe and that the question of recommencing payments to the EU is totally absurd when everyone is suffering in order to rebalance the economy post-Covid and war in Ukraine.’ Brexiteers
also fear that the Government is preparing to make concessions to Brussels over the Northern Ireland Protocol, possibly giving the European Court of Justice a role in resolving trade disputes.
The Sunday Times reported yesterday that Government sources want to move over the next decade to a relationship with the EU similar to that enjoyed by Switzerland.
While not a member of the bloc, Switzerland has access to the single market and is part of the visa-free Schengen zone. Switzerland also makes billionpound ‘cohesion’ payments to Brussels and allows the freedom of movement.
Asked about the reports, Health Secretary Steve Barclay told Sky News: ‘We’ve got a Prime Minister who himself supported Brexit. I myself did and was Brexit Secretary, and worked very hard to maximise our control of our laws, our borders and our money.
‘Stop being a noisy neighbour’
‘So, it’s absolutely important, particularly in those high-growth sectors, such as financial services, life sciences and the green industries, that we really use the Brexit freedoms we have. So, I don’t recognise this story at all.’
Asked if he could support a Swissstyle relationship with the EU, he answered: ‘Well, I didn’t support that. I want to maximise the opportunities that Brexit offers.’
Former work and pensions secretary Chloe Smith told Times Radio: ‘I don’t think that would be a particularly wise path at this time.’
Trying to squash the story, a Government spokesman said: ‘These reports are categorically untrue. This Government is focused on using our Brexit freedoms to create opportunities that drive growth and strengthen our economy.
‘Brexit means we will never again have to accept a relationship with Europe that would see a return to freedom of movement, unnecessary payments to the European Union or jeopardise the full benefit of trade deals we are now able to strike around the world.’
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage claimed there would be a ‘sellout’: ‘ This level of betrayal will never be forgiven.
The Tories must be crushed. Rishi Sunak is a Goldman Sachs globalist, so this sellout of Brexit is not surprising.’
Lord Cruddas, a £3million Tory party donor, warned: ‘I am ready to mobilise the Vote Leave team to stop it. We are ready to fight for the Brexit the electorate voted for.’
And backbencher Marco Longhi predicted it would lead to fresh turmoil within a party that had already had two leadership elections this year: ‘If this is remotely true, the last few months will feel like a walk in the park compared with what might be ahead.’
Something similar to a Swiss-style deal had been proposed by Theresa May in 2018, retaining access to the single market while ending free movement. But that prompted ministerial resignations and was rejected by the EU as ‘cherry-picking’.
Former Brexit special adviser Raoul Ruparel wrote: ‘Worth remembering Theresa May essentially expended her
remaining political capital on something which was unlikely to ever be negotiable or supported by Tory MPs.’
However, a Northern Ireland MP said there needed to be at least one Swiss- style agreement to limit checks on foods crossing the Irish Sea.
Stephen Farry of the Alliance party said: ‘The closer UK is aligned to EU, then the better for UK businesses and others in general, and specifically for easing the need for NI Protocol-related checks. Start with a Swiss-style UK-EU veterinary deal.’
And Tory peer Lord Price, a former boss of Waitrose, told
the BBC: ‘I’ve always felt that if we weren’t going to rejoin the EU or become a member of the EEA, which means that we would have to adopt again all the EU legislation, the Swiss model was the right way for us to go forward.’
He said that Britain had to stop being a ‘noisy neighbour’ and start compromising with the EU.
But Mrs Dorries said: ‘We will not and cannot reverse Brexit and that needs to be made crystal clear. If the origin of this story is remainer Jeremy Hunt, then serious questions have to be asked. At a time when the country craves stability we simply cannot tolerate freelancing Cabinet ministers discussing potentially explosive and destabilising policy intentions.’
‘Maximise the opportunities’