The Outwood airhead, Andrea Jenkyns MP, had a piece in The Telegraph (HERE no £) yesterday. The title is: After meeting Martin Selmayr, I know why the EU is confused about Brexit. However, her article fails to tell us what she thinks the reason actually is. The only clue is that she seems to think the EU is confused because she herself is confused.
She went with the DEXEU Select Committee to Brussels yesterday, as they did last September when she met Barnier and Weyand, the chief and deputy chief negotiators. On that occasion Weyand carefully explained to Jenkyns why the maximum facilitation model, now called the Malthouse compromise, won't work. This was the waste of an airfare because she clearly didn't get it and is still plugging the same rejected plan. The EU are probably confused about what happens between Jenkyns' ears. I can perhaps enlighten them - nothing.
You can tell what the EU think of the Malthouse compromise, in Brussels it's known as the 'madhouse compromise'. We are a laughing stock aren't we?
She went with the DEXEU Select Committee to Brussels yesterday, as they did last September when she met Barnier and Weyand, the chief and deputy chief negotiators. On that occasion Weyand carefully explained to Jenkyns why the maximum facilitation model, now called the Malthouse compromise, won't work. This was the waste of an airfare because she clearly didn't get it and is still plugging the same rejected plan. The EU are probably confused about what happens between Jenkyns' ears. I can perhaps enlighten them - nothing.
You can tell what the EU think of the Malthouse compromise, in Brussels it's known as the 'madhouse compromise'. We are a laughing stock aren't we?
"Mr Selmayr said that the EU remains unsure about what the UK wants and, to be fair, I can understand his point. I stated then at the meeting that the Brexit Committee and the House of Commons remain biased and not representative of the referendum result or of public opinion".
"This meeting further evidenced this and added to the mixed messages by colleagues who were discussing; an extension of Article 50, a Norway-style model, some who supported the Withdrawal Agreement, some stating a desire to remain in the Customs Union, some supporting no deal, whilst some supporting the need to remove the backstop. I stated that if anything, recent polling shows that public opinion is hardening towards a no-deal".
This is what she has to say about being confused:
"I went to Brussels with lots of questions, and return in the knowledge that the European Union is right to be confused, I am confused as to how we ended up here. A huge majority of my colleagues — 544 MPs — voted in favour of the European Union Referendum Bill, 17.4 million people voted to leave the EU and 494 MPs voted to trigger Article 50. The decision to leave the European Union and its institutions was clear".
Jenkyns labours under the impression that because a majority of voters chose Brexit and a majority of MPs then triggered Article 50 and it was clear it must, ipso facto, be a simple thing to do. This is perhaps where her confusion comes from.
In the article The Telegraph inserted the tweet sent by Selmayr after the visit just to make clear the EU are not having second thoughts about the backstop, as implied by the BBC's Adam Fleming:
On the EU side, nobody is considering this. Asked whether any assurance would help to get the Withdrawal Agreement through the Commons, the answers of MPs were ... inconclusive .... The meeting confirmed that the EU did well to start its no deal preparations in December 2017.— Martin Selmayr (@MartinSelmayr) February 4, 2019
And to reassure her constituents:
"However, I remain no clearer as to what happens next regarding Brexit".
But not being clear about the future of Brexit doesn't prevent her urging the PM to get on with it - whatever it is. As a concession she says she would like a deal but not a bad one (i.e. one containing the backstop) we should leave on March 29th and disappear over a cliff along with the entire UK car industry:
"A deal is preferable. However, this cannot be a deal that put limits on our ability to trade freely outside the EU. We cannot continue to kick the can down the never-ending Brexit road. It has been over 950 days since the EU referendum and it will be over 1,000 come the end of March. I say no to extending Article 50, no to remaining in the EU’s institutions and no to any bad deal for our country, which is what we will get unless we leave on time. This is what the people voted for, now let’s deliver and give the country Brexit on March 29".
51 days to go.
51 days to go.
