May facing a battle to secure her latest delay to Brexit
●Days of talks with Labour stall ●Sturgeon: PM just wasting time
Theresa May faces a battle to secure a delay to Brexit and prevent a no-deal scenario at the end of next week after “national unity” talks with Labour broke down.
The Labour Party said it was “disappointed” with the talks and claimed the Prime Minister was unwilling to change even the non-binding part of her Brexit deal on future trade with the European Union to allow a customs union.
Meanwhile, Mrs May’s request for an extension of Article 50 until not later than 30 June looks set to be rejected in Brussels, with European Council president Donald Tusk set to offer only a oneyear delay.
Even a long extension could be rejected at Wednesday’s summit of EU leaders, with the governments of France, Spain and Belgium all ready to block any delay because they are not convinced the UK will be able to ratify a deal.
Following yesterday’s talks, shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said ministers were “not countenancing any changes” to the wording of the political declaration. He said:
“We’ve had two rounds of talks and so far, the government isn’t proposing any changes to the deal. In particular it’s not countenancing any changes to the actual wording of the political declaration.
“Now obviously that’s disappointing; compromise requires change. We want the talks to continue and we’ve written in those terms to the government, but we do need change if we’re going to compromise.”
But a Downing Street spokesman struck a more upbeat tone, saying: “We have made serious proposals in talks this week, and are prepared to pursue changes to the political declaration in order to deliver a deal that is acceptable to both sides.
“We are ready to hold further detailed discussions this weekend in order to seek any such changes in the run-up to European Council on Wednesday.”
Responding to Labour’s statement, Nicola Sturgeon said that, in her own talks with theprimeministeronwednesday, Mrs May “refused to indicate any compromise she might make”. The First Minister tweeted: “It is a bizarre approach from someone who made great play of wanting to find consensus – and has just wasted yet more time.”
The SNP’S Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, said the Prime Minister now had to offer a referendum on Brexit. He said: “It comes as little surprise that behind the rhetoric the Tory government has proved as intransigent and stubborn as ever, offering no meaningful steps in ending the Brexit chaos it has created.
“The clock is ticking down and with just a matter of days before the deadline to a catastrophic no-deal exit, it is clear that the only way to end the Brexit impasse is by bringing this back to the people in a fresh EU referendum – with remain on the ballot paper.”
But prisons minister Rory Stewart insisted there was “quite a lot of life” left in talks with Labour. “I know that there are going to be tensions,” he said. “In truth the positions of the two parties are very, very close and where there’s good will it should be possible to get this done and get it done relatively quickly.”
He insisted that “of course we are prepared to compromise” on the political declaration.
Failure to reach even an outline agreement by early next weeks puts the UK’S request for any delay to Brexit in jeopardy.
France’s Europe minister Amelie de Montchalin warned yesterday that an extension would not be granted automatically. It would require the UK to put forward a proposal with “clear and credible political backing” and “in the absence of such a plan, we would have to acknowledge that the UK chose to leave the EU in a disorderly manner”.
The governments of Belgium and Spain are also thought to have taken a hard line on an extension when EU ambassadors met in Brussels yesterday.
The Prime Minister wrote to Mr Tusk requesting a delay until 30 June, with an option to leave earlier if she can get a deal through Parliament.
Mrs May said she will seek to secure ratification of the deal before European elections on 23 May, but conceded that the government would make “responsible preparations” for the UK to take part in the polls.
EU sources said Mr Tusk is recommending a longer postponement of one year, with a break clause in the case of earlier ratification, in a so-called “flextension” deal.
Irish premier Leo Varadkar said a longer delay to Brexit “might make more sense” than the UK seeking “rolling extensions where there is an extension every couple of weeks because that just adds to the uncertainty”.
Prominent Brexiteer Jacob Rees-mogg suggested the UK should retaliate against any long extension by using its continued membership to block moves towards closer EU integration. The Scottish Government has ditched plans to re-introduce its own Brexit Bill at Holyrood after the proposal was rejected by the UK Supreme Court last year.
Brexit secretary Mike Russell said the decision has been taken after the UK government moved to “retrospectively limit” Holyrood’s power, without consent.
But new laws will be brought forward to allow Holyrood to “keep pace” with the EU after Brexit.
The Scottish Government brought forward its own UK Continuity Bill amid concerns that the UK government’s own Withdrawal Act was an attack on the powers of the Scottish Parliament over the way responsibilities returning from Brussels
Scottish Brexit bill is ditched after UK limits Holyrood powers
Scott Macnab
were to be repatriated. Holyrood’s Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh ruled it was outwith the powers of the Scottish Parliament.
However, the UK Supreme Court found the bill had been competent when first lodged – but UK ministers retrospectively moved to alter the Scotland Act and render the bill incompetent.
“That power was circumscribed by a later Act of the UK Parliament. In other words, the Scottish Parliament had the power to make different choices, such as the decision to retain the Charter of Fundamental Rights where the UK government decided not to, but that power was removed by the UK government’s EU (Withdrawal) Act, an Act passed without the consent of the Scottish Parliament,” Russell said in a letter to Mr Macintosh.
He added: “That being the case – the Continuity Bill having been in part retrospectively denuded of its force – Scottish ministers have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we should not at this point move for its reconsideration.
“This decision has been taken following a series of meetings with representatives of parties across the Chamber.”
Scotland will continue to develop its own policy for future environmental principles and governance, Mr Russell added.
“We shall put in place the legislative and institutional arrangements that will be required,” he adds.
Ministers are also looking at the ways to protect the welfare needs of animals, he added.
And work to respect the commitment to retaining the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the Continuity Bill will also be taken forward thorugh a National Task Force.
New laws will also be passed to keep Scotland attuned with EU law.
“The extent to which devolved law aligns itself with the law of the EU should be a decision for the Scottish Parliament to take, not the UK government,” Mr Russell added.
“This government is committed to no regression in standards or protections should EU exit take place, and the replacement of regulatory powers lost in consequence of EU exit will be essential to ensure that.”