Number Ten has been desperate from the start that we must remain in the Customs Union – and endure a kind of semi-skimmed faux Brexit.
That doesn’t mean the Party needs to move right; on the contrary, it means accommodating on issues such as the NHS.
The only potential escape lane from a breakdown in the negotiation and No Deal gridlock is marked “to Canada”.
With the backstop blocking progress in the negotiations, the Government must map out its plan to mitigate the effects of no agreement being reached.
In the first of three articles, the Weston-super-Mare MP looks at how to ensure that the customer, not the corporation, is king.
£21.6 million has been spent on new equipment, software and consultants. Yet residents have had to spend hours trying to navigate the council’s website or waiting to be connected to the call-centre
Plus: the postponed selection processes in Darlington and Wirral West have been restarted. And: Ryan Henson selected in Bedford.
“We have made progress on Northern Ireland, where the EU have been working with us.”
£2.6 billion of the sum the government accepted as the compensation owed has still not been paid.
Cox’s intervention at May’s meeting of senior Cabinet ministers last week to discuss Brexit plans turned out to be crucial.
It isn’t just pro-Brexit MPs who should be watching the Prime Minister carefully. It’s pro-Union ones: in other words, all of them.
During this Budget run-up, many of those I met raised business rates as a killer, plus council tax, the apprenticeship levy, parking charges and corporation tax, too.
Alex Morton and the rest of our research team have spent weeks crunching the numbers to ensure that they stack up
Let’s use this first step to provide a more equal and representative voice for our city. The Tory Reform Group wants to help.
She says that Labour should support a reasonable Government Brexit deal, and indicates that she would do so
“For the last two and a half years I’ve proposed that we put the money that has been taken out back in.”
He tells Marr that “you can set conditions under which the arrangement comes to an end”.
Marr puts it to her that they’re designed to ensure that the Government fails them – and have no other purpose.
The Chairman of Open Europe makes his point as the organisation releases a report claiming that No Deal would be manageable.
The key question now for Conservative MPs is whether they can support the UK being trapped in a customs union – and the dismemberment of the Union itself.
Brexit won’t be the most important factor shaping our growth over the next decade or so, whether we leave with an agreement or without one.
We have the technology. Being a world leader in carbon capture and storage attractive can make us a destination for inward investment in clean energy.
“Theresa May faces a frantic 48 hours to try to save her Brexit negotiating strategy after she admitted talks had ground to a halt because of the EU’s insistence upon a Northern Ireland-only backstop. The prime minister is expected to plead with EU leaders to drop their Irish backstop proposal at a make-or-break summit dinner on Wednesday night after seeking the support of members of her cabinet on Tuesday morning. With time running out before Wednesday’s meeting, May used an emergency Commons statement to say the EU’s plan “threatens the integrity of our United Kingdom” because it could lead to the creation of a customs border in the Irish Sea.” – The Guardian
Yesterday: WATCH: “Cool, calm heads” needed for the “final stages” of Brexit negotiations, May tells the Commons
“The EU has proposed a backstop that would mean Northern Ireland staying in the customs union, large parts of the single market and the EU VAT system – the UK has rejected this, instead proposing a backstop which would effectively keep the whole of the UK in the EU customs union for a limited period.The BBC understands that eight cabinet ministers – Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Penny Mordaunt, Chris Grayling, Liz Truss, Andrea Leadsom and Geoffrey Cox – discussed the issue on Monday night. They expressed concerns that Mrs May must commit to a hard deadline after which point her time-limited version of the backstop would end. One source said “it was a general, productive and positive discussion on current state of play with commission and no definitive conclusion.” – BBC
“Conservative Brexiteers are being accused by the head of the civil service of making “shameful attacks” on Theresa May’s chief Brexit adviser. In an unprecedented intervention, Sir Mark Sedwill, the acting cabinet secretary, condemned the attacks on Oliver Robbins and said that they must stop. His comments, in a letter to The Times, come after repeated criticism of Mr Robbins both in public and private from Tory backbenchers who believe that he is attempting to orchestrate a soft Brexit against the will of the country as expressed in the referendum. Sir Mark said that those responsible for the “sniping” should be “ashamed of themselves”. He pointed to the case of another civil servant who reported having been threatened because of comments about Brexit implementation.” – The Times
>Today: ToryDiary: A Brexit alternative for the Cabinet today
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: The enduring importance of the Attorney-General
“Nicola Sturgeon has appealed to MPs to vote down Theresa May’s Brexit deal, saying it was the “only chance” for Westminster to change course and secure a less damaging exit from the EU. The First Minister said it was still possible for MPs to force the government into a softer Brexit, with just days to go until a crucial EU summit where the UK’s withdrawal agreement must be signed off by European leaders. She hit out at Mrs May’s Brexit strategy, saying an exit from the EU single market would harm the economy, while a vague politics declaration on the future trade relationship between London and Brussels would leave businesses in limbo.” – The Scotsman
“The PM needs to tell the EU to get stuffed. And she must go back to the drawing board. She must replace Chequers with an ambitious, Canada Plus, free trade agreement between the UK and the EU. She must insist that the Northern Irish solution lies with technology and policy that avoid checks at the border. And she must tear up the backstop. One alternative, still a compromise for Brexiteers like me, is to agree that the UK will remain inside the Customs Union for a period of up to five years while the appropriate systems are put into place. Critics will say the EU will never agree. But if they cannot accept a trade deal consistent with their principles and which respects the integrity of their single market, we know they seek only a damaging deal for Britain, or no deal at all.” – Nick Timothy, The Sun
“It is now essential to turn up to full throttle the preparations for leaving without a deal. Yes, that sadly means everything from printing customs forms to building lorry parks in Kent. Such physical contingency plans are unavoidable, but it would be a good idea to add policy preparations too – get the plans ready for the freeports and reduced tariffs that would give the UK an advantage in the world, while maintaining high environmental and product standards…Clarity about the changes needed to rescue the current negotiations, wholehearted preparation for the worst outcome, and a readiness to consider entirely fresh ideas will now be important ingredients of delivering a worthwhile deal after all. It can still be done.” – William Hague, Daily Telegraph
>Today: Columnist Henry Newman: How to manage No Deal? To start with, pledge to reduce tariffs.
“Sajid Javid was last night told to rip up “disastrous” post-Brexit immigration proposals or expose seven million Brits to more competition for a job. Migration Watch said the Home Secretary had to slap an annual cap on immigration or watch numbers coming to the UK “run rapidly out of control”. They said it defied belief an advisory committee had suggested opening the door to migrants from around the world – but lowering the skill threshold necessary to qualify for a work permit.” – The Sun
“Ageism could become a hate crime under a review of the law to be announced by Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, as he revealed the racial abuse and threats he had suffered himself. Mr Javid has asked the Law Commission to investigate whether ageism and misogyny should be recognised as hate crimes in the same way as offences motivated by hostility based on race, religion, sexual orientation or disability. Charities estimate around one million older people are victims of physical, financial, psychological and sexual abuse each year yet say criminal convictions are rare and sentences too lenient.” – Daily Telegraph Continue to all today’s Newslinks
Brexit 1) May lobbies the EU for a deal with time running out… “Theresa May faces a frantic 48 hours… Read more »
Raab’s unscheduled meeting with Barnier yesterday ended in lack of consensus… “…Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, travelled to Brussels yesterday… Read more »
Downing Street denies claim that Brexit deal is already done… “Theresa May will seek the support of the Cabinet for… Read more »
Hammond warned he won’t get Budget tax rises through the Commons… “Philip Hammond is being warned that he does not… Read more »
Inner Cabinet “puts pressure” on May to back off over Customs Union “Theresa May was challenged by at least six… Read more »
Brexit 1) May “to propose keeping the UK in a customs unions with the EU” “Theresa May will on Thursday… Read more »