The Sunday Telegraph - 01.09.2019

6 FINAL^ Sunday 1 September 2019 The Sunday Telegraph

By Edward Malnick
SUNDAY POLITICAL EDITOR

FORMER ministers fighting to stop a
no-deal Brexit are to demand “evi-
dence” of progress in negotiations with
the EU in a showdown with the Prime
Minister tomorrow.
Senior Tories including Philip Ham-
mond, David Gauke, David Lidington
and Margot James want Boris Johnson
to prove his strategy is “bearing fruit”.
The former ministers are to confront
the Prime Minister as he considers
sanctions against those who vote to hi-
jack the Commons this week with
the aim of preventing a no-deal exit.
One plan under consideration is to
deselect Tory MPs who support the
move, meaning they would be unable

Former ministers to hold

showdown tomorrow as

Johnson mulls sanctions

against his opponents

News

to stand as Conservative candidates in

the general election likely to follow.

The group broke cover last month in

a letter to Mr Johnson in which 21 Con-

servative MPs said they were “alarmed”

by his negotiating red lines “which on

the face of it appear to eliminate the

chance of reaching agreement”.

They are preparing to back a move

on Tuesday by Sir Oliver Letwin, David

Cameron’s former policy guru, to seize

control of parliamentary business with

the intention of forcing Mr Johnson to

prolong membership of the EU and

avoid a no-deal Brexit on October 31.

On Friday, Mr Johnson insisted that

the more MPs try to block a no-deal,

“the more likely it is we’ll end up in that

situation”, because the EU will be less

inclined to offer concessions designed

to avoid such an outcome.

In the last fortnight, Angela Merkel,

the German chancellor, and Emmanuel

Macron, the French president, both ex-

pressed a willingness to discuss alter-

natives to the controversial “backstop”.

But a source within the group of-

former ministers said: “Members of the

group passionately want a deal and

want to believe the Prime Minister is as

passionate about that as they are. They

will be looking for evidence that [his]

strategy is bearing fruit. It is fair to say

there is some scepticism.”

Today, in an article for The Sunday

Telegraph, Michel Barnier, the EU’s

chief Brexit negotiator, insists any solu-

tion to the impasse must be “compati-

ble with the Withdrawal Agreement”

agreed with Theresa May.

Michael Gove, in charge of no-deal

planning, writes that Mr Johnson’s

pledge to deliver Brexit on Oct 31 “do or

die” is “helping us to secure a solution”.

Mr Johnson believes he convinced

EU leaders the UK will walk away with-

out a deal if they fail to offer a revised

agreement that MPs could support.

But a source inside the group of anti-

no deal MPs claimed Downing Street

was being slow to propose alternative

arrangements “because they know

they will be immediately refused”.

Today, Mr Gove launches one of the

biggest public information campaigns

ever to prepare the country for Brexit.

“The British people voted three years

ago to make the move out of the EU and

into the world,” he says. “It’s time now

to deliver.”

Michael Gove: Page 19

Politics

A poster from the

government

campaign launched

today by Michael

Gove

No-deal rebels seek proof of

progress from PM’s strategy

A

s the next act in the

Brexit drama begins, I

ask myself how the

theatrics will play out. The

optimist in me hopes for a

closing scene of a sovereign,

global-facing, dynamic UK

liberated from the trammels

of EU institutions. I know

that Boris Johnson is the

best man to direct such a

grand finale.

There will no doubt be

twists and turns in the plot.

One thing is clear: the script

needs to change. In order

for the UK to leave the EU

with a deal (by far my

preferred option), the

Withdrawal Agreement

including the Northern

Ireland backstop and the

Political Declaration need

major editing.

I am pleased to co-chair

Prosperity UK’s Alternative

Arrangements Commission

with Greg Hands MP. The

commission has brought

together experts in customs,

trade and logistics, input

from those directly affected

in Northern Ireland and

cross-party politicians from

across the Brexit debate to

set out a detailed alternative

to the backstop. We have

presented our proposals to

EU negotiators – most

recently on Friday at a

productive meeting in

Brussels.

We show how, instead of

the backstop, a multi-tier

trusted trader programme,

with exemptions for the

smallest companies, would

cut the number of customs

checks needed and ensure

they could take place away

from the border. More use of

conformity assessments and

replacing border checks on

standards with checks on

goods after their entry into

market will reduce friction.

And existing technology can

help assess compliance with

rules of origin. SPS [food]

and veterinary checks could

be carried out using mobile

units and an all-island

regulatory area could be

considered. We have drafted

protocols to make all this

legally operable.

However, the changes do

not stop there. The

Withdrawal Agreement is

flawed and exposes the UK.

We need better protection

of our interests. An overhaul

of the Political Declaration is

needed if this deal is to

command more support.

Importantly, a clearer

commitment to a free-trade

agreement is essential if we

are to trust that the UK will

be able to develop an

independent trade policy.

All reference to a “single

customs territory” (that is, a

customs union) must be

removed. Brexit will be

meaningless and hollow if

we are still, in practice or in

law, tied to the EU’s customs

rules and regulations.

The new Political

Declaration needs to be part

of a package of alternative

border arrangements and an

unmistakable wide-ranging

free trade agreement which

demonstrates how the UK

will thrive outside the EU.

So we need a new deal

that sincerely protects the

UK, which guarantees that

we take back control of our

laws, borders and trade,

which reflects a fruitful

relationship between two

equal partners, not between

oppressor and supplicant.

The rehearsals are over.

We need the performance of

a lifetime from our

negotiators: a deal which

keeps the promises,

honours democracy and sets

Britain free.

Suella Braverman is MP for

Fareham and co-chairman,

Alternative Arrangements

Commission

Comment

By Suella Braverman

Ditching May’s

backstop must

only be first step

The rehearsals are

over. We need the

performance of a

lifetime from our

negotiators

‘‘They will be

looking for

evidence that

it is bearing

fruit. It is

fair to say

there is some

scepticism’

RELEASED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws