No 10 split over ‘no deal’ option in manifesto
‘Some people in No 10 are worried including no deal in the manifesto will put off soft Tories who voted Remain’
DOWNING Street is divided over whether to include “no deal” in the Tory party manifesto, after Brexiteer MPS lobbied the Prime Minister to commit to leaving the EU on World Trade Organisation terms if a free trade deal is not struck with Brussels by the end of 2020.
With the manifesto expected to be finalised this weekend, members of the European Research Group (ERG) are agitating for a clause making it expressly clear that the two-year transition period will not be extended beyond Dec 31 next year.
According to a senior Tory source: “Key ERG members have been lobbying Boris but Downing Street wants the focus to be on the wonders of the Prime Minister’s deal – they don’t want to be distracted or drawn into the previous arguments about deal or no deal.
“They want to say that the Conservative Party is completely lined up behind the deal, which has won the approval of Brexiteers and Remainers.
“Some people in No10 are worried including no deal in the manifesto will put off soft Tories who voted Remain and are tempted by Labour and the Lib Dems. The Leavers are saying that a commitment to no deal could help to entice voters back from the Brexit Party.”
The row comes after Michael Gove yesterday promised that the UK will have struck a trade deal with the EU by the end of 2020 and will not extend the transition period.
Asked if no deal remained a threat, Mr Gove, who is responsible for no deal preparations, told Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s always the case that we need to prepare for every eventuality but I am confident we will be able to get a good relationship with the EU at the end of this period.”
The admission will fuel criticism that leaving the EU with Mr Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement in January will still leave the door open to a “crash out” exit less than a year later.
Michel Barnier yesterday warned that time will be “extremely short” to complete free trade talks, suggesting the transition period may need to be extended.
Speaking in Lisbon, the EU’S chief negotiator said: “Brexit is a school of patience…we need to keep in mind that the orderly withdrawal is a step, a necessary step, it is not a destination.
“Summer 2020, in eight months, will already be a moment in truth on how far we have come and whether an extension of the transition will be needed.”
Privately, Mr Barnier is understood to have told senior members of the European Parliament that he believes the future relationship will take “two to three years” to conclude.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage is in talks with individual Eurosceptic Tory candidates about standing down Brexit Party candidates at the general election after Boris Johnson snubbed a nationwide pact.
Mr Farage said he was “open” to such deals but hinted that the price of any cooperation could be high – an agreement from the Tory candidate not to support Mr Johnson’s deal in Parliament if they are returned as MPS after the general election.
News of the secret talks is likely to infuriate the Prime Minister who has insisted that the Tories will not agree to Mr Farage’s proposal of a “patriotic alliance” by combining the electoral resources of the Tory and Brexit party.
A friend of Mr Farage confirmed that putative talks had opened with some MPS about a local electoral pacts on a case-by-case basis. “We are having those conversations,” said one.
On a campaigning visit to Labour seats in the Midlands, Mr Farage told The Daily Telegraph he was “open” to such deals.
Asked what he would do if a candidate phoned up and said “I will oppose this deal if you stand down an opponent”, Mr Farage said: “I would look forward to speaking to them.”