May facing battle over White Paper on Brexit
● Chaotic scenes as White Paper delayed ● Angry Speaker suspends Commons
Theresa May’s long-awaited plan for Britain’s future relationship with the EU has met immediate resistance from Brexiteers in her own party, with Jacob Rees-mogg declaring that it failed to respect the result of the 2016 referendum.
The plan was unveiled amid shambolic scenes in the Commons, as Speaker John Bercow suspended proceedings so that MPS could get a copy.
The UK government published its long-awaited plan for Britain’s future relationship with the EU yesterday but was immediately faced with resistance from Brexiteer Tory MPS.
Ministers won cautious approval for the White Paper from business leaders but are set for a tough fight against eurosceptics in their own party who denounced the plan as “vassalage”.
The 98-page document sets out a significantly “softer” version of Brexit than desired by Tory Brexiteers, prompting the resignation of Boris Johnson and David Davis from Mrs May’s Cabinet earlier this week.
It involves the UK accepting a “common rule book” on trade in goods, with a treaty commitment to ongoing harmonisation with EU rules. The UK would enter an association agreement with the EU, making continued payments for participation in shared agencies and programmes.
An independent arbitration panel set up to resolve UK-EU disputes would seek guidance from the European Court of Justice, but only on the interpretation of EU law.
CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn welcomed the plan, saying it put “pragmatism before politics”, but warned there were still “gaps” on the future VAT regime and customs systems.
“With three months left to go, it is now a race against time,” Ms Fairbairn said. “This is a matter of national interest. There’s not a day to lose.”
Liz Cameron, the director of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, welcomed plans for visa-free travel for tourism and short-term business activity, as well as a UK-EU Youth Mobility Scheme.
However, Ms Cameron added that the labour-intensive Scottish hospitality, manufacturing, oil and gas, and food processing sectors “need urgent clarity on the longerterm arrangements for the recruitment of workers from EU and non-eu countries”.
There were shambolic scenes as the document was unveiled, with House of Commons Speaker John Bercow forced to suspend the session of Parliament so MPS could be issued with copies of the
White Paper. The Speaker rebuked new Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, saying it was “most regrettable” that journalists had been briefed on the contents of the document yesterday morning, before MPS had a chance to look at a copy.
Mr Raab faced hostile questioning from all sides, including his own. Jacob Rees-mogg, the chairman of the backbench European Research Group, said the proposals amount to “vassalage” and “a bad deal for Britain”.
The Scottish Government’s external affairs secretary Fiona Hyslop said the White Paper had “fallen short on employment rights and environmental protections” and offered “little reassurance” on the economy.
“While the paper provides an indication that the UK wants to participate in paneu programmes in areas such as science and research, there continue to be too many unknowns on issues such as whether the UK’S proposals can deliver continued use of the European Arrest Warrant and what they mean for the future migration of people,” Ms Hyslop said.
The EU’S chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said he would assess the White Paper to see if it was “workable and realistic” before meeting Mr Raab next week.
“With three months left to go, itis now a race against time. This is a matter of national interest. There’s not a day to lose” CAROLYN FAIRBAIRN CBI director general