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Theresa May urges public to 'trust me' to deliver Brexit amid increasingly bitter cabinet rows

Infighting between senior ministers dismissed as simply ‘noisy debate and technical discussions’

Deputy Political Editor

Saturday 12 May 2018 22:56 BST

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What could the sticking points be in the Brexit trade deal?

Theresa May has urged the public to “trust me” to deliver Brexit, as she fights off mounting criticism that her warring cabinet threatens to derail the process.

The prime minister dismissed bitter rows among her top ministers about how Britain should leave the European Union as simply “noisy debate and technical discussions”.

Instead, she insisted Britain remained on course to “take back control” of its money, laws and borders, including “billions of pounds” that would be diverted to the NHS.

Dismissing talk of compromise, Ms May again vowed to take the UK out of the EU single market and customs union and “establish our own independent trade policy”.

“You can trust me to deliver,” she promised, writing for a national newspaper after a week in which her own Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, dismissed her customs proposal as “crazy”.

However, the article offered no hint of a solution to the stark disagreements over customs after Brexit, with a deadline set by the EU just six weeks away.

The embarrassing clash has seen the prime minister divide key ministers into two groups examining rival plans, in a bid to find an acceptable compromise.

No 10 has abandoned any prospect of an agreement at a meeting of the inner cabinet on Tuesday – and is admitting there may be no resolution before the summer is out.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

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1/8The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Post-Brexit immigration

workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns.

PA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Customs union

A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that “Brexit means Brexit” and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UK’s economic outlook become clearer.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Northern Ireland-Irish border

Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Party’s coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a “specific solution” would need to be found.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Transition period

Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs.

EPA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Rights of EU citizens living the UK

The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreement (with the EU)

Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreements (internationally)

The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period.

EPA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Financial services

Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period.

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The EU has requested a solution to customs and trade regulations that can satisfy fears of a new hard border in Ireland by its summit at the end of June.

However, on Friday, a Downing Street spokesman reiterated that it did not recognise the cut-off, insisting: “We are not setting any further deadlines for ourselves apart from October. That continues to be our focus.”

Meanwhile, Dominic Grieve, the former Tory attorney general, called for Mr Johnson to resign for refusing to accept collective responsibility – but Ms May is widely viewed as too weak to move against him.

In the article, she wrote: “I will ensure that we take back control of our borders. The public want their own government to decide on the number of people coming into Britain from across the European Union and that is what we are going to do.

“I will ensure that we take back control of our money. We have agreed a settlement with the European Union and the days of vast contributions from taxpayers to the EU budget are coming to an end.

“So Brexit means there will be billions of pounds that we used to send to Brussels which we will now be able to spend on domestic priorities, including our National Health Service.”

The government has been accused of “negotiating with itself”, because both its customs proposals have already been rejected by Brussels.

Mr Johnson dismissed Ms May’s preferred customs partnership, under which the UK would collect tariffs on behalf the EU, as “crazy” – backing an alternative plan, based on untested tracking technology.

The partnership plan will be discussed by Brexiteer opponents Liam Fox and Michael Gove, in a group also including David Lidington, a May loyalist.

Meanwhile, two sceptics, Greg Clark and Karen Bradley, will examine the tech-based “max-fac” proposal – requiring border checks – with supporter David Davis.

The set-up suggests neither group will reach a decision in favour, unless one member can be “turned”.

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