Theresa May received a warm reception from Conservative backbenchers on Wednesday night despite widespread disquiet within the party over the direction of Brexit negotiations. MPs banged desks in appreciation after the prime minister addressed the 1922 Committee of backbenchers with what one former minister described as an "emotional and personal" speech.
Although she faced a handful of critical questions from Brexiteers, most MPs reportedly called for unity as the prime minister faces into the final weeks of Brexit negotiations.
Earlier at prime minister’s questions, Jacob Rees-Mogg asked Mrs May about reports that the government was willing to agree that the European Court of Justice would be the final arbiter in most cases arising from Brexit. She told him the reports were wrong.
“We have been very clear, in the work that we have been doing, about ensuring that the European Court of Justice will not have jurisdiction in the UK in the future,” she said.
Four steps
The prime minister this week set out four steps to break the deadlock over the Northern Irish backstop but formal negotiations between the UK and the EU have yet to resume following their failure to agree a withdrawal agreement ahead of last week's summit in Brussels. Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said on Wednesday that a no-deal Brexit was now the most likely outcome.
Ms Sturgeon told a meeting of committee conveners at the Scottish Parliament that she was concerned that the Conservative government was shutting down negotiating space with EU leaders.
“Almost with every day that passes right now, instead of the UK government opening up negotiating space that increases the possibility of reaching a deal that then can attract political support, they seem to be closing down that negotiating space and digging themselves deeper into the hole they’ve got themselves in,” she said.
“Given that we are two years on from the vote, five months away from exit, it is staggering incompetence that the government has allowed the situation to get to this stage. I think Brexit is frankly shaping up to be the biggest failure of government policy and handling of a situation that any of us have ever seen perhaps in our entire lifetimes.”
Criminal gangs
The National Audit Office warned on Wednesday that the UK would “pay the price” for a no-deal Brexit because exporters had too little time to prepare, there would be delays at borders and criminal gangs would exploit weaknesses at the frontier.
“The government has openly accepted the Border will be suboptimal if there is no deal with the EU on March 29th, 2019. It is not clear what suboptimal means in practice, or how long this will last. But what is clear is that businesses and individuals who are reliant on the Border running smoothly will pay the price,” the government’s financial watchdog said in a report.
The most senior official at the treasury, Tom Scholar, told a Commons committee that it was essential for economic growth that the government should negotiate a close relationship with the EU after Brexit.
“The overwhelmingly important thing here is the nature of the UK’s economic relationship with the EU. If it’s a close one that supports continued economic growth, then we can certainly afford to establish a few new agencies and that is why it is absolutely essential that is what is agreed,” he said.
