Born again Brexiteer Hunt’s manifesto for a lower-t ax Britain
FOREIGN Secretary Jeremy Hunt today burnishes his ‘ born again Brexiteer’ credentials by calling for the UK to emulate the ultralow tax example of Singapore in our post-EU future.
Mr Hunt – who is understood to be Theresa May’s preferred choice as successor when she l eaves Downing Street – uses an article in today’s Mail on Sunday to pay tribute to the ‘ dynamic’ Asian country beloved by pro- Brexit MPs, while dismissing the option of a second referendum and rowing back on remarks which suggested he was relaxed about a No Deal Brexit.
His confident vision of the UK’s future comes as his main Cabinet rival for No 10, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, is perceived to have been damaged by his handling of the Channel migrant crisis.
And it comes as allies of the Prime Minister say that they are increasingly confident that Brussels can be persuaded to shift position sufficiently on the controversial Northern Ireland ‘backstop’ to win the delayed Commons vote on her Brexit deal.
Mr Hunt, who is being increasingly eyed by Brexiteer Tory MPs as a compromise leadership candidate, hails Singapore – which has slashed burdensome taxes and red tape – for plugging into ‘the international economic grid’ after becoming independent in 1965.
Mr Hunt writes: ‘There could be few better instructions for us as we make our post-Brexit future’.
Singapore is frequently cited by Brexiteers as an example of how the UK could flourish once free of the constraints of Brussels.
But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn argues that following the Singapore example would turn Britain into a ‘bargain basement tax haven’.
Mr Hunt also uses the article to set out his opposition to a second referendum on Brexit – which, as a Remain voter, he had briefly supported in t he wake of t he 2016 vote – and to clarify recent remarks in which he had appeared to be relaxed about the prospect of ‘No Deal’.
He says: ‘It’s true that no negotiation ever produced an outcome that was perfect for all sides and this deal is no different. So it is always alluring to reach for alternatives. But in this case other options are fraught with danger.
‘A quick fix like a second referendum? A simple solution like No Deal? An easy option like Parliament taking control? The truth is all these ideas create more problems than they solve. Politicians like Tony Blair might like the idea of a second referendum. It’s the equivalent of saying to the public: you created the problem by voting to leave, now over to you to fix it.’
Mr Hunt adds: ‘ Walking away without a deal would present risks to business and jobs even if you believe in the end we would find a way through it to survive and prosper. No one should be encouraging a move that could leave us poorer at the same time as gladdening the hearts of those who wish for a fractured Europe’.
Mr Hunt’s intervention comes as allies of the Prime Minister are increasingly confident that Mrs May will win round her rebels to push her deal through the House of Commons. Downing Street insid- ers believe the EU is on the brink of agreeing a new ‘side treaty’ which would include a so-called ‘Stormont Lock’, allowing a resurrected Northern Irish assembly to block EU rules in the province.
If Mrs May’s Ulster allies agree, No 10 assumes Tory Brexiteer hardliners would then fall in line.
The additional document would also include a legally binding declaration, making the backstop time limited and setting out how it could be collapsed under international treaty law.
No 10 also hopes Michael Gove will lead attempts to ‘sell’ the deal in the run-up to the crucial vote, which will take place in the week starting January 14. Mr Gove is
said to believe much of the criticism of Mrs May’s deal has been over ‘conflating it’ with her loathed Chequers plan – which was rejected by the EU – and that the differences must be set out clearly.
MPs suspect Mrs May is also planning to pull a ‘rabbit’ from her hat by ‘pivoting’ towards a loose Canada-style free trade deal for the UK’s future relationship with Brussels. Professor Catherine Barnard of the UK In A Changing Europe group told the Commons two weeks ago that she had ‘been reliably told that there was a much longer version’ of the political declaration being circulated in Brussels that stretched to about ‘100 pages.’
Giving evidence t o MPs she added: ‘My sense is that a sort of Canada-type document is what we are heading towards.’
There will also be a concerted effort to target wavering Labour MPs. One strategist said: ‘ The message will be very simple: the only way to avoid No Deal is to back the deal.’
Mr Hunt’s backing for the Singapore model echoes calls made by Boris Johnson and Mr Gove last year in their leaked letter to Mrs May setting out their demands for Brexit.
In the letter, revealed in The Mail on Sunday, Mr Johnson and Mr Gove said: ‘We may choose to remain identical to the EU – or we may embrace a vision more aligned with pro-competitive regulation. Other countries must know this choice is in our hands – and they must know it on day one,’ adding: ‘Our tax system is hugely complex after the long years of Labour government. There will be huge savings from reducing the burden of compliance.’