Stand up to ‘wild men’ in party, Mandelson tells May

THERESA MAY must stand up to the “wild men” in her party who are trying to push her into taking the UK out of the European Union without a trade deal, Labour’s former Minister Lord Mandelson has warned.

Lord Mandelson said it would be a “sign of insanity” to try to use the threat of leaving without a deal as a negotiating tactic, as the economic consequences would be “much greater” for the UK than the rest of Europe.

He called on the Prime Minister to build a broader coalition of support for the compromises she will need to make, if she is to reach a comprehensive trade deal, on issues like “divorce bill” payments to the EU, the timetabling of any trade agreement and the continuation of European Court of Justice jurisdiction and freedom of movement during any transitional period.

If she did so, it would be “churlish” of Remain supporters like himself not to wish her well, said the former EU trade commissioner. But he warned: “If she gives into the wild men on the right of her party, she will have herself to blame when the awful reality of our position dawns, as it will.”

Speaking at the Institute of Government in London, Lord Mandelson said: “I really do believe the Prime Minister faces a fork in the road and a huge amount is riding on her choices either to stand up to the pressure being exerted on her and see off and face down those trying to drag her away from her current position, or simply see her position progressively erode.”

Mrs May warned in the Lancaster House speech setting out her Brexit objectives that she was ready to walk away from negotiations, declaring “no deal is better than a bad deal”.

But Lord Mandelson said the “no deal” option would leave Britain exposed to WTO tariffs on 90 per cent of the goods it exports, including 36 per cent levies on dairy products, 15 per cent on other food, 11 per cent on textiles and 10 per cent on cars.