Cross-party talks seeking late Brexit compromise

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

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

May is facing intense Cabinet pressure to avoid the prospect of a long delay of the EU divorce, 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. French 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 cannot come again to Brussels without a plausible plan.

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

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

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

Such an arrangement 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 "fulfill 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."

jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily 04/09/2019 page12)