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Brexit: Boris Johnson plans EU speech for Valentine's Day to bring warring Tories together

One Government source said that with tensions strained in the party, it could turn into a ‘Valentine’s Day massacre’

Political Editor

Tuesday 06 February 2018 18:43 GMT

Boris Johnson is expected to deliver his 'liberal Brexit' speech on Valentine's Day (Getty)

Boris Johnson is planning a Valentine’s Day speech aimed at unifying the warring Brexit tribes of the Conservative Party.

His intervention, pencilled in for the day that love conquers all, is expected to reach out to MPs who once backed Remain in a bid to bring some peace to the party.

But with the timing set to clash with a Brexit speech from Theresa May and reports that Mr Johnson is being lined up to replace her, one Government source warned it could instead lead to a “Valentine’s Day massacre”.

It comes as Ms May and her senior ministers prepare for two crunch meetings to try and agree a joint-approach to negotiating a final Brexit deal.

It was reported in September that Mr Johnson was persuaded to abandon a speech outlining a harder vision of Brexit shortly before Ms May’s Florence speech, only to then publish the text in a newspaper.

But the speech now earmarked for Valentine’s Day is expected to take a more emollient approach, extending an olive branch to Conservatives on the party’s liberal wing.

The Independent understands that the “liberal Brexit” speech had been due this week, but was postponed ahead of the meetings of the cabinet sub-committee on EU withdrawal.

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.

Alamy

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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One source familiar with the speech said no date had yet been totally locked in, but that it would almost certainly be this month.

If the Valentine’s Day plan goes ahead, it could see the Foreign Secretary steal the limelight a few days before the Prime Minister is set to make her own security-themed Brexit speech in Munich.

Mr Johnson and others on the Tory benches are said to be worried that Ms May’s Brexit vision is not yet optimistic enough.

News of his speech also comes after Brexiteers have become increasingly aggravated in recent weeks at suggestions that Ms May is planning to keep the UK inside a form of customs union with the EU – potentially threatening Britain’s ability to have an independent trade policy after withdrawal.

While Downing Street has made clear it is seeking an “end state” deal that will allow the UK to sign new trade deals with other countries, reports have emerged of plotting from the right of the party to replace her if she goes back on her word.

the way things are, it could easily end up as a Valentine’s Day massacre

A Government source

Under one alleged scheme that emerged at the weekend, Ms May would be replaced by Mr Johnson, with Environment Secretary Michael Gove as his deputy PM and the increasingly strident Jacob Rees-Mogg MP as his chancellor. Mr Rees-Mogg is said to have already demanded Ms May sack her civil service Brexit negotiator Oliver Robbins.

Last night, former minister Anna Soubry – a key voice backing a softer Brexit – demanded the Prime Minister stand up to the likes of Mr Johnson and Mr Rees-Mogg, and threatened to walk out if she failed to.

A Government source said: “The speech is being pitched as a bid to unify the party.

“But with the way things are, it could easily end up as a Valentine’s Day massacre.”

Former head diplomat on May's Brexit positioning: 'Global Britain' is just a 'slogan'

The comment refers to the infamous gangland murders on 14 February 1929, which saw Al Capone cement his power over rival groups in prohibition-era Chicago.

Mr Johnson and Mr Gove will join fellow Brexiteers Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, and Brexit Secretary David Davis at the two cabinet sub-committee meetings on Wednesday and Thursday.

Ministers who lean towards a softer Brexit – including Chancellor Philip Hammond, Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Business Minister Greg Clarke – will also attend, with the two sides hoping to reach an agreement on how much the UK should diverge from the EU in the future.

There is then expected to be a further “away day” during the recess where ministers hope to finalise the position.

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