Cross-party talk seek late Brexit compromise

With the possibility looming that Britain could crash out of the European Union on Friday with a so-called no-deal Brexit, the UK government on Monday continued with intense cross-party talks on finding a compromise that might include remaining in a customs union arrangement.

It is understood the main parties – Labour and Conservative - are intent on finding common ground, but with neither side willing to make any big concession, Prime Minister Theresa May cannot assume the EU would permit any further extension to the April 12 deadline.

May is facing intense Cabinet pressure to avoid the prospect of a long Brexit delay, amid increasing expectations that the last ditch cross-party talks will not produce anything concrete.

She is due at an emergency summit in Brussels on Wednesday, when EU leaders will expect to hear fresh plans. France's President Emmanuel Macron is leading demands for Britain to sign up to rigid political conditions as the price for any Brexit delay.

Some EU leaders fear a further delay will keep the UK and the EU overwhelmed by Brexit arguments, making it impossible for either the UK or EU to regroup and rebuild.

The French stand seeks to put pressure on the British, so that May does not come again to Brussels without a plausible plan.

A game changer in the cross-party talks would be to stay in a customs union, but the situation is toxic for May with her Eurosceptic backbenchers pressing for a hard Brexit with no-deal.

A customs union arrangement would allow tariff-free trade in goods with the EU but limit the UK from striking its own deals. Leaving the arrangement was a Conservative Party manifesto commitment.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland told BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hourthat "something approximating a customs arrangement or customs union" was the most likely outcome of the talks.

It would mean "an end to freedom of movement and ... that we deliver the vast majority of the aims of Brexit, which was to leave the institutions of the European Union", he said.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright told BBC Radio 4's Today program that all sides needed to be "prepared to compromise" to "fulfil the primary objective" of leaving the EU.

"We have to move forward, and it's very important for politicians on both sides to respect what the British people decided in 2016, which is that we are leaving the EU," Wright said.

But Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald told the BBC that talks between the parties had "not been entirely productive", and few details have emerged from the discussions.

On Sunday, May tweeted a video message, explaining her decision to negotiate with Labour.

"We absolutely must leave the European Union ... that means we need to get a deal over the line and that's why we've been looking for new ways - a new approach - to find an agreement in Parliament," she said.

"People didn't vote on party lines when it came to the Brexit referendum. And I think members of the public want to see their politicians working together more often."