Boris woos DUP with talk of ‘Titanic’ threat
Former foreign secretary calls on Theresa May to junk Irish backstop in speech to DUP conference
BORIS JOHNSON has likened Theresa May’s Brexit deal to the Titanic, warning that the prospect of the UK being trapped in the European Union’s orbit is looming like an “iceberg ahead”.
In a speech to the DUP’s annual conference yesterday, the former foreign secretary reiterated his calls for the Prime Minister to “junk” the Irish backstop or risk tearing apart the “fabric of the Union”.
Mr Johnson also suggested that the Government withhold “at least half the cash” from the £39billion divorce deal until a free trade deal was signed.
Speaking in Belfast, where the illfated liner was built, Mr Johnson said the draft Withdrawal Agreement conjured up images of Titanic heading off to sea, adding: “Now is the time to point out the iceberg ahead.”
He claimed that Northern Ireland faced being reduced to the status of a “semi-colony” of the EU if the agreement was ratified by Parliament.
To loud cheers, he said that the proposals put forward would bring about a new country – UKNI [uck-nee] – which left Northern Ireland trapped between Great Britain and Brussels.
“Indeed if you read the withdrawal agreement you can see that we are witnessing the birth of a new country called UKNI,” he continued. “UKNI is no longer exclusively ruled by London or Stormont ... it is in large part to be ruled by Brussels. And UKNI will have to accept large swathes of EU regulations now and in the future. Unless we junk this backstop, we will find that Brussels has got us exactly where they want us – a satellite state.”
Dismissing the binary choice put forward by Mrs May that it is her deal or no deal, Mr Johnson quoted lyrics of Van Morrison, the Northern Irish singer, saying: “It is time we all moved from the dark end of the street to the bright side of the road. We have time to get this right.”
Urging the DUP’s 10 MPs to work with him and the scores of Conservative backbenchers who have pledged to vote down Mrs May’s deal, Mr Johnson said the electorate would “rumble” that it failed to deliver a true Brexit.
This, he said, was the “surest way of getting elector revenge” and handing the keys of Downing Street to Jeremy Corbyn. His comments were echoed by Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, who told the conference that the Brexit deal was “not in the national interest” and would cause long term “economic damage” to Northern Ireland.
Mrs Foster yesterday claimed that a Labour government led by Mr Corbyn was better than being tied to the EU.
She said that it was only with the DUP’s support that the Government survived last year’s election, adding: “We will not be found wanting in our efforts to secure a better outcome, an outcome that does not leave Northern Ireland to the perils of increased divergence away from the rest of the United Kingdom.”
She was joined by Nigel Dodds, her Westminster deputy, who appeared to mock the Prime Minister’s vulnerability when he joked that the only figure in No 10 with “any security of tenure” was “Larry the Downing Street cat.”
“In fact, he might be a good pick for Brexit secretary, since he’s been involved in negotiations as much as the previous Brexit secretaries have.”
In another veiled swipe at the Prime Minister’s waning authority, he added: “In such momentous times for our country, it requires strong leadership to stand up to Brussels bullying.
“It needs a strong leader to stand by her red lines. It takes a strong leader to stand by her promises. So step forward Arlene.” EUROPE EDITOR
Months ago, the extraordinary EU leaders’ summit to “seal the deal” on Brexit was conceived as a big momentum moment: a heavyweight, set-piece occasion in which Theresa May’s Brexit deal took on an unstoppable quality.
The summit atmosphere was never intended to be chummy, but still, this was the moment when the cover-up was applied to the negotiation room bruises and all 28 leaders agreed that these were the only viable terms for the UK to make an orderly exit from the EU.
If the chancellor of Germany and the president of France lined up to back the deal for the sake of stability on both sides of the Channel, reasoned Downing Street strategists, would a rump of Brexiteers really look credible when defying them? And yet in Brussels this week it is clear to many insiders that this “moment” has passed even before it has dawned.
With 91 MPs in open opposition to the deal in London, the handshakes that take place this afternoon between Mrs May and the 27 EU leaders will be accompanied by hollow, pitying smiles. “It has already taken on the air of a wake, not a celebration,” said one