David Davis made a statement and answered questions in the House yesterday. His statement comes as Labour confirm it will put a three line whip on their MPs to vote against the EU Withdrawal Bill. I am not sure how Labour hope to block the bill by voting against it at second reading since I don't think they have the support of enough Conservative rebels to make this even a faint possibility. Anna Soubry, one of the most vociferous Conservative rebels, said on Radio 4 this morning that she had told the PM she would not be opposing the Bill on second reading.
Sitting alongside Davis as he spoke was Steve Baker a Brexit fanatic if ever there was one and Dominic Raab another nutter. Newspapers this morning are mainly concerned (HERE) with the laughter he provoked when telling MPs that the negotiations had made "concrete progress". More laughter came when he told the house, "Nobody has ever promised this will be simple or easy,”. This was what Remainers said during the campaign but were shouted down as scaremongers!
Davis said significant steps forward had been made on citizens rights but other areas needed flexibility. Voting rights of UK citizens in EU would be lost and other rights too, if they move to another EU country. There were other separation issues that needed more work including Euratom where we will need to cooperate in future. He again claimed the UK was more flexible (ignoring all the red lines Mrs May set at the beginning) and he urged the EU to show the same flexibility.
Progress was made, so he said, on the Irish border question although Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister seems to be more sceptical and on our 'financial obligations to each other' there was in his words, 'very different thinking' and significant differences to be bridged.
The future partnership papers published so far set out the government's thinking and show that with regard to the Irish border and other things it was impossible to divorce our future relationship from the phase 1 issues. He said further papers will show that we want to build a deep and special relationship with the EU - but well short of membership apparently. Big payments will end but we 'may want' to participate in various programmes - as if we are still swanning around a buffet deciding what we would like to eat, after flouncing out saying we want nothing to do with the restaurant ever again and refusing to pay.
Kier Starmer was excellent in reply. He said progress was far too slow and the sides seem to be getting further apart rather than closer together. Progress was needed by September so that a decision to move to trade could be made in October. Any delay would only make things even more difficult. Starmer said the PM's red lines are the problem that will bedevil the rest of the negotiations as fantasy began to meet the brutal reality of Brexit. He skewered Davis on the new customs ideas in his future partnership paper, saying the track and trace proposal which was floated on 15th August but lasted barely a fortnight before being sunk by Davis himself as 'blue sky thinking' on September 1st.
Ken Clarke got the first question, telling MPs that although Leave had claimed our trading arrangement would not change after Brexit, a new trade deal would certainly do that and it would also involve a loss of sovereignty as well as taking a long time to agree new one. An agreement on a transition period was needed and quickly. Davis, true to form did not agree.
When it came to later questions it was surprising how many of the Brexiteers spoke. To listen one would have thought they were the majority of MPs but they are in fact a vociferous minority of perhaps 30% or so. IDS said we should not agree a transition until we know what the final deal is. This would be a huge gamble since the final deal won't be known until the very end of the negotiations a bit like trying to buy an insurance policy as you reach the cliff edge.
Bill Cash accuses labour of being not remainers but reversers. Justin Lewis claimed a clean break is better than a bad deal and John Redwood said we had no legal obligation to pay anything and leaving with no deal and using WTO rules would be 'fine'. Davis himself said some EU countries were aware that no deal would hurt them more than it hurt us! One half expected a nurse to appear at any moment and administer sedatives before helping the lunatics from the chamber
Crispin blunt thinks the European Council will start to get involved after October. Davis agreed and said we should also wait until after German elections and the forming of a new German government, which might perhaps be as late December. He also thought the argument about money would continue until the end of the negotiation. He seems to be hanging his hopes on European leaders capitulating early in 2018 and giving us what we want. I suggest he doesn't hold his breath for that.
In a bizarre exchange with Angela Eagle who asked a question that concerned the future of the Vauxhall plant in her constituency if there was no deal, he talked about car factories in Detroit buying engines from plants in Canada and trucks crossing the border in an average of 53 seconds. He did not mention that the USA and Canada have the NAFTA trade agreement to help them, something we wouldn't have if we leave with no deal.
It is worrying that the nation's future is in the hands of a fool like Davis. I expect he will be sacked before the end of the negotiations. He is playing a weak hand as badly as it could be played.
