Brexiteers pile pressure on Sajid Javid to stick with them

A clash of Cabinet heavyweights has begun ahead of the crunch meeting at Chequers
EPA
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Cabinet Brexiteers today put pressure on Home Secretary Sajid Javid to back them in tomorrow’s Chequers awayday, saying that if he “flips again” his leadership hopes will be ruined.

Key details of Mrs May’s proposals were this morning rejected by senior EU sources in Brussels, who said the UK could not cherrypick by having different rules for goods and services.

Brexit Secretary David Davis did not deny a claim that he wrote to the Prime Minister last night warning that her proposal is unworkable and bound to be rejected by Brussels when negotiations between the UK and EU restart.

One ministerial source who agreed with Mr Davis said: “Sajid is absolutely key — if he flips and backs it, it will be trickier to stop it. He flipped once in the Cabinet committee when he backed the Brexiteers but if he flips again by moving away from them he would probably look like someone who could not be relied on in times of adversity.”

Sajid Javid is under pressure to back cabinet Brexiteers
REUTERS

An ally of Mr Javid said: “They are putting a lot of pressure on him.” The Tory leadership frontrunner made waves by backing Brexiteers in a committee vote on Mrs May’s original plan for a customs partnership. The PM then announced the Chequers awayday, possibly relying on the apparent Remain majority in Cabinet to win the day.

Last night Downing Street said Mrs May’s plan was a “best of both worlds” blend of the customs partnership and “max fac” options. Key elements are:

Most importers would pay UK tariffs on imported goods, but about four per cent would pay EU tariffs because they would re-export finished goods to the Continent. Technology would be used to track goods, leading to claims of complexity and a risk of smuggling.

Britain would maintain “full regulatory alignment” on goods to reduce border checks and solve the Irish problem. But divergence would be allowed on the bigger services sector.

Trade deals could be struck with non-EU countries, the UK argues.

EU sources told the Standard they will not consider a proposal that includes a “single market for goods”, if the UK intends to diverge on services, free movement and EU court jurisdiction.

However, there was some hope the No 10 plan could reopen talks on the Irish border “backstop”.

Guy Verhofstadt, European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator, said it was time for the PM to “put her country before domestic party political infighting — the time for fudges, fantasies and attempted renegotiations is over”.

European Council president Donald Tusk has said the promised white paper on customs must bring “clarity, realism and impetus to these negotiations”.

Ex-Treasury permanent secretary Lord Macpherson said: “If a ‘facilitated customs arrangement’ is the best HMG can do after 2 years, I begin to wonder whether a deal can be done.”

There was speculation that Mr Davis might resign if thwarted tomorrow but a Right-winger said: “It’s a long Uber ride home from Chequers — and the debate has a long way to go.”

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