At last, we are having a proper Brexit debate
A MAJOR contest is taking place in the Establishment over precisely how this country will leave the EU. The referendum result never really answered that question, but Theresa May’s original Government chose to interpret it as a verdict for an ultra-hard Brexit.
Mrs May’s loss of her majority reopened the issue. In the vacuum left by the dwindling of her personal influence, strong voices are now contending.
The strongest of these is that of Chancellor Philip Hammond, whose power and reputation have expanded as Mrs May’s have shrunk.
Interestingly, Downing Street has not so far slapped him down.
Mr Hammond has lost no time in asserting his authority, and in shifting the debate away from ‘How do we achieve a hard Brexit?’ to ‘How do we achieve a wise Brexit that does not needlessly damage the economy?’
An equally urgent problem is: ‘How do we avoid a damaging crisis over our border with the Irish Republic?’
And when we look at the matter in this way, everything changes. The language is often coded. But in the Tory Party itself, the large number of MPs and Ministers who like to be part of the consensus seem to be starting to shift. Minds are swinging open.
In the Labour Party, until now as dogmatic as Mrs May, significant voices are saying that staying in the single market – most easily achieved through the ‘Norway option’ of EEA membership – cannot be ruled out.
The TUC’s General Secretary, Frances O’Grady, who in today’s Mail on Sunday makes a powerful case for remaining in the single market, is a vital voice in the Labour movement who cannot be ignored.
Diane Abbott, a close confidante of Jeremy Corbyn, insisted on Friday night’s BBC Newsnight that on this subject nothing is off the table. She sounded as if she was speaking with authority.
It is quite possible that the public are shifting too. The referendum campaign was a low-grade, shouted affair. The real debate is taking place now.
Anyone on either side who is truly concerned about the fate of this country – and its people – must welcome this more serious consideration of one of the most important decisions we have ever taken.