Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Rees-Mogg's amendment to the Checkers deal Britains makes crashing out of the EU, with no deal, inevitable.


A key part of the Checkers deal was that the UK would collect tariffs and VAT on goods on behalf of the EU. The EU 27 has made it clear that under no circumstances would the EU do the same for a Britain outside the EU. By accepting the Rees-Mogg amendment that UK should only do this if the EU reciprocates means Britain will go into the negotiations committed to something which it is clear will be rejected. Rees-Mogg has pretended that he would prefer that Britain should leave with a deal but this amendment makes it clear that his aim all along is to crash out of the EU with no deal. This opens the way to a trade deal with the US which, while Trump is president, will inevitably lead to a bonfire of environmental protections and safety regulations. That Theresa May has agreed to that amendment even though she must know that any further negotiations with the EU will be a pointless farce heading for an inevitable breakdown indicates that for her retaining the office of Prime Minister has become an end in itself. Theresa May caves in to hardline Brexiters' demands