PM’S defeat provides mandate to demand better deal from EU, say the Brexiteers
THE defeat of Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement provided a “massive” and “unmistakable” mandate to return to Brussels and renegotiate the deal, according to the DUP and Brexiteers.
Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, said Mrs May would now be able to demonstrate to EU negotiators that changes were required if any deal was to command the support of Parliament.
“The House of Commons has sent an unmistakable message to the Prime Minister and the European Union that this deal is rejected,” she said.
“Reassurances, whether in the form of letters or warm words, will not be enough. The Prime Minister must now go back to the European Union and seek fundamental change to the Withdrawal Agreement.”
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said the result of the vote gave Mrs May a “massive mandate” to renegotiate a new deal from the EU.
“We should not only be keeping the good bits of the deal, getting rid of the backstop, but we should also be actively preparing for no deal with ever more enthusiasm,” he said, adding that no deal was “not at all” off the table.
Asked by the BBC if Mrs May was the right person to lead the party and country, he said: “That is not the issue. The issue is not who does it, the issue is what to do.”
Earlier in the day, however, Dominic Raab and David Davis burnished their leadership credentials, mapping out their own manifesto for “A Better Deal”.
During an hour-long press conference, the two former Brexit secretaries set about dismantling warnings about no deal as they unveiled an alternative blueprint for leaving the European Union with or without an agreement.
They were joined by Tory peer Lord Lilley, the former trade secretary, and Shanker Singham, the economist known in Westminster as the “brains of Brexit,” and Ms Foster.
Accusing Mrs May of treating Brexit as a “risk-management exercise”, Mr Raab said that the current deal would “eviscerate” the benefits of leaving, as he urged colleagues not to “breeze over the fatal and fundamental flaws” contained within it.
Calling for a deal built on long-term economic opportunities, he added that MPS must not be “cowed by the undoubted short-term risks” that will arise from no deal.
“For all [the] rancour around Brexit, we should stay calm,” he continued. “In between Eeyorish pessimism and Tiggerish optimism, there is a place for stubborn optimism here.”
His comments were echoed by Lord Lilley, who compared scaremongering over no deal to the Millennium bug and argued that much of the disruption could be mitigated by ratcheting up Government planning.
He added that rather than “crashing out”, the UK would be “cashing in” because it would be able to withhold the £39billion divorce payment which is conditional on a deal being reached.
Meanwhile, Mr Davis rejected as “facile” Mrs May’s warning that Brexit could be thwarted if her deal was rejected, insisting that no deal would open the UK up to “bigger and faster growing” markets around the world.
He added that the reduction of import tariffs in recent decades through the WTO regime was more significant for British trade than the creation of the Single Market.
Attacking the Government’s negotiating strategy, Mr Davis said that the key to success was “knowing what you want” and that unlike Mrs May, they would be able to present to Brussels a legal text and future trade deal which made the UK’S position clear.
The event marks the first time that the former Brexit secretaries have appeared on a panel together since leaving Government, with both rumoured to be jostling for the support of Tory Brexiteers in anticipation of a leadership contest.
However, both rejected suggestions that Mrs May should quit after last night’s vote, insisting that her first priority should be to return to Brussels to seek more concessions.
Reiterating her staunch opposition to the backstop, Mrs Foster claimed that Brussels had “held the pen” during the negotiations and that she hoped defeat last night would force Mrs May to recognise that “the backstop must go”.
Despite receiving assurances from Mrs May after she pulled the vote in December, Mrs Foster claimed that the Prime Minister had not attempted to “get rid of the backstop” and that Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, had confirmed that there had been no mention of it during the discussions.
Yesterday, Davis and Raab confirmed that their plan would be further supplemented with a fully drafted UKEU free trade agreement, which will be unveiled in February.