Davidson and Mundell quit threat over Brexit ‘red line’
● Senior Scots Tories in warning to PM as latest talks with EU fail to secure deal
David Mundell and Ruth Davidson have warned Theresa May not to breach their Brexit red line over special status for Northern Ireland, joining the growing list of senior Tories believed to be considering resignationover proposed compromise s to reach a deal with Brussels.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Scottish Secretary and leader of the Scottish Conservatives said they “could not support” a Brexit deal that keeps Northern Ireland within parts of the European Union single market and introduces new regulatory checks on goods travelling between the rest of Britain and the province.
A source close to Mr Mundell said it was “logical” that if Mrs May pushed ahead with a plan that included special status as part of a “backstop” to prevent a hard border in Ireland, the Scottish Secretary would consider his position.
It came as Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab travelled to Brussels yesterday for a one-hour meeting with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier amid mounting speculation on the possibility of a deal being reached on the UK’S withdrawal agreement ahead of an EU summit starting on
“Any deal that delivers a differentiated settlement for Northern Ireland … would undermine the integrity of this United Kingdom”
MUNDELL/DAVIDSON LETTER
Wednesday. However, UK government sources said a deal had yet to be struck, and Mr Barnier tweeted that “Despite intense efforts, some key issues are still open”.
A UK Government source said yesterday that “it’s very much in the EU’S interests to make it look like there is a deal” because it leaves the UK looking “like we are the ones being intransigent”.
Ambassadors of the 27 EU member states were also summoned to the European Commission headquarters last night, and a meeting of senior negotiators from both sides planned for today was cancelled with no further negotiations scheduled ahead of this week’s summit, indicating a deepening deadlock.
Mrs May’s Cabinet will meet tomorrow amid widespread disquiet among Conservatives and their allies in the DUP at proposed compromises which would keep the UK in the EU customs union and boost regulatory checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea.
DUP leader Arlene Foster and her colleagues have reacted angrily to speculation about the contents of the proposed agreement, with Ms Foster warning the Prime Minister not to do a “dodgy deal” that undermines Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.
Under existing treaties, including the Good Friday Agreement (also known as the Belfast Agreement), Northern Ireland already has separate regulatory regimes shared with the Republic in a number of areas, including electricity and animal health.
However, the EU has said that under a commitment agreed by London to prevent a “hard border” on the island of Ireland, the north will have to remain effectively within the single market in a number of areas affecting trade.
Checks on goods travelling between the north and the rest of Britain would need to be enhanced, affecting all livestock and agricultural products, a significant amount of which comes from Scotland.
The letter from Ms Davidson and Mr Mundell states: “Having fought just four years ago to keep our country together, the integrity of our United Kingdom remains the single most important issue for us in these negotiations.
“Any deal that delivers a differentiated settlement for Northern Ireland beyond the differences that already exist on all-ireland basis (eg agriculture), or can be brought under the provisions of the Belfast Agreement, would undermine the integrity of our UK internal market and this United Kingdom.”
The letter adds: “We could not support any deal that creates a border of any kind in the Irish Sea and undermines the Union [of the UK] or leads to Northern Ireland having a different relationship with the EU than the rest of the UK, beyond what currently exists.”
Meanwhile, as many as eight Cabinet ministers are said to be considering their positions over plans to keep the UK in the customs union as part of the “backstop” to ensure goods continue to flow over the Irish land border, without a firm date for when such a “temporary customs arrangement” would end.
Asked whether any backstop plan keeping the UK in the customs union would need to have a time limit, Health Secretary Matthew Hancock replied: “I certainly hope so”.
He added: “There are different ways you can make sure something is credibly timelimited and that is what I want to see.”
Former Brexit secretary David Davis has called for a Cabinet “mutiny”, telling his former colleagues to “exert their collective authority” to stop unacceptable compromises on customs and Northern Ireland.
Tory MP Nadine Dorries suggested that Mr Davis should be installed as interim leader, claiming that was the only way to secure the kind of free trade deal Brexit demanded by Eurosceptics.
Allies of Mr Davis said he has been contacted by several Tory MPS urging him to run for the leadership.
The Scottish Government’s Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell said there was “no stability in the [UK] government and no ability to deliver”, adding that an “extended” period in the single market and customs union was the only “sane and sensible proposal”.
SNP deputy leader Keith Brown said: “It is telling that Davidson and Mundell have not threatened resignation to protect Scotland’s place in the customs union or single market – which is eight times bigger than the UK market alone.
“The Tories must stop pandering to the will of hardline Brexiteers. Remaining in the single market and the customs union is essential for the economy, jobs and living standards – and it’s high time the Tories put that before their internal squabbles.”
Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said: “Davis is simply about the hundredth Tory MP to have a hundredth nasty, public disagreement with his own leadership.
“We need to escape this mess
democratically, which is why we have called on the British people to have the final say on any deal.”
Mrs May’s hopes of getting a Brexit deal through Parliament could depend on Labour MPS, with reports that as many as 15 could break the party whip to back the government.
Former minister Caroline Flint has said she would back a “reasonable” deal.
But shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said: “If she [Mrs May] comes back with something that’s just a fudge she’s cooked up with Brussels … we’re not voting for something that’s essentially a bridge to nowhere.”
Recent polls suggest that a troublingly high percentage of Brexiteers are perfectly willing to pay what we consider to be unacceptably high prices for the UK to leave the EU.
When it comes to both the Good Friday Agreement which secured peace in Northern Ireland and Scotland’s continued membership of the UK, a great many Leavers in England have adopted the view that if these things are weakened by Brexit then that’s life and we shall all have to get on with it.
This blasé attitude to such incredibly sensitive issues give us all pause for thought.
The issues of Northern Ireland and Scotland after Brexit, though different in nature, are inextricably linked. If an arrangement is found which gives Northern Ireland special status and avoids a hard border with the Republic, many on the other side of the Irish Sea will be hugely relieved. But others would be infuriated.
Yesterday, it emerged that Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, have threatened to quit if the UK government reaches a compromise over Brexit that threatens to “undermine the integrity” of the UK.
The two are said to have made it clear to Prime Minister Theresa May that they would resign if Northern Ireland has a unique deal because such an arrangement would fuel the case for Scottish independence.
Leading Brexiteers are fond of saying that “nobody voted for” any of the proposed compromises, such as remaining in a customs union, that might make the Brexit process less painful. This may be so – but nor did anyone vote for a Brexit that threatened peace in Northern Ireland or undermined the integrity of the UK.
Yesterday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Davidson and Mundell’s position was “bizarre”. In fact, there is some logic to their stance. From a unionist point of view, any agreement that gave Northern Ireland status denied to Scotland would, inevitably, play into the SNP’S hands.
It is the view of The Scotsman that continued peace in Northern Ireland is more important than the delivery of a “hard Brexit” for which nobody explicitly voted.
May is under intense pressure from within Conservative ranks to walk away from the EU without a deal. The truth is, however, that she should make the case for the UK remaining within the customs union. The price for leaving it is, we believe, too high.