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Brexit: Varadkar says PM's plans 'do not fully meet agreed objectives' – live news
Brexit: Varadkar says PM's plans 'do not fully meet agreed objectives' – live news
(32 minutes later)
As expected, Boris Johnson is being accused of trying to avoid parliamentary scrutiny by proroguing parliament again, in this instance by Labour MP Liz McInnes:
Why is Boris Johnson so scared of #PMQs? Seems to me he’ll do anything to get out of it - he’s only done it once since he became Prime Minister! https://t.co/Rk8zjYbdZp
Labour MP Hillary Benn has sharply criticised the PM’s proposals, and told Channel 4 that he does not think the plan upholds the principles of the Good Friday agreement.
"This is even worse than Theresa May's deal."Labour MP Hillary Benn criticises Boris Johnson's Brexit plan, saying "Theresa May at least followed through on her commitment to keep an open border in Northern Ireland." pic.twitter.com/bTjVn7RyNE
This from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on the reaction of Leo Varadkar to the proposals:
no commitment to go immediately into serious talks in the 'tunnel', but nor is there an immediate dismissal of the proposals.... makes it extremely hard to tell if there is any real chance of this getting off the ground or not https://t.co/u4sf9k4Rjd
The Labour MPs Ruth Smeeth and Gareth Snell have expressed support for Boris Johnson’s new withdrawal deal proposals, provided it would ever reach the Commons for a vote.
This from the BBC’s Nicholas Watt:
Gareth Snell and Ruth Smeeth have just told me they will vote for Boris Johnson’s #brexit deal if it is approved by the EU. They are two of the more prominent Labour MPs who represent Leave voting seats
The support of Smeeth and Snell could be significant for PM in parliament if the EU agrees to his deal. Looks like the DUP and the Brexiteer spartans on board. Add these two Labour MPs to the five who supported Theresa May’s deal in March and the PM is closing in
All of these parliamentary calculations are on the basis of the EU agreeing to PM’s offer. A minister, who is very keen to secure a deal, says of the Gareth Snell and Ruth Smeeth announcement: “That is all very well. But the EU is not going to agree to the PM’s offer.”
And this just in from the BBC’s Katya Adler, on reactions of EU leaders to the new proposals and possible developments over the comings days and weeks:
Appreciation in EU circles this evening, of advances the PM perceived to have made on his regulatory offer since UKs informal ‘non papers’ on how to replace backstop. “I’m impressed” a key EU diplomat told me, describing himself as “lightly more optimistic” as a result BUT /1
Aside from other EU concerns with the PMs proposal, customs remains main sticking point. There EU contacts say the PM hasn’t budged his position despite EU repeatedly explaining their concerns re dangers to single market (smuggling) and to NIreland peace process /2
BUT sense in Brussels that the take it or leave it rhetoric of the PM was aimed at UK audience and that he’s willing to negotiate further in Brussels. Diplomats welcome PMs use of expression ‘broad landing zone’ however .. /3
This does not mean EU thinks a deal likely by the mid October EU leaders summit. Quite the opposite. Everyone I speak to believes it to be very unlikely. And only slightly less unlikely that a deal can be sealed by end of the month /4
Apart from it not bring clear how far the EU (Varadkar is key here) is willing to compromise +how far the PM will still move .. the very fractious +divided European Parliament has to approve deal (remember MEPs approved a motion saying deal without backstop is impossible?) AND /5
Then there’s the seething UK Parliament which also would have to approve a deal .. SO a long uncertain road ahead. Expect many, many questions from EU on legal text of the UK proposals over the coming days But ../6
Tonight at least EU goes to bed feeling less hopeless and doom and gloomy than it frankly expected to be on receiving the Johnson proposals /7
The BBC’s economics editor Faisal Islam has made an important point about the PM’s new withdrawal proposals and has flagged up that the government explicitly states in the new text that there is “no need” for a “level playing field” between the UK and the EU - a point that carried significance in previous negotiations, particularly in regard to the future relationship between the UK and the Euro bloc.
The BBC’s economics editor Faisal Islam has made an important point about the PM’s new withdrawal proposals and has flagged up that the government explicitly states in the new text that there is “no need” for a “level playing field” between the UK and the EU - a point that carried significance in previous negotiations, particularly in regard to the future relationship between the UK and the Euro bloc.
3 Lab MPs say signed up to deal having held out for MORE guarantees on keeping regulatory standards with EU, but this designed around “no need for extensive level playing field commitments” on worker/economic/ environmental standards “envisaged in previous [backstop] protocol” .. pic.twitter.com/GCOHShoTwk
3 Lab MPs say signed up to deal having held out for MORE guarantees on keeping regulatory standards with EU, but this designed around “no need for extensive level playing field commitments” on worker/economic/ environmental standards “envisaged in previous [backstop] protocol” .. pic.twitter.com/GCOHShoTwk
The Political Declaration is surely ripped up alongside this Johnson announcement - there were three significant references to level playing field commitments in that document, now not sought/ “no need”. Can’t just be snipped out...Is Govt even seeking a PD? pic.twitter.com/O9gS5yLHlo
The Political Declaration is surely ripped up alongside this Johnson announcement - there were three significant references to level playing field commitments in that document, now not sought/ “no need”. Can’t just be snipped out...Is Govt even seeking a PD? pic.twitter.com/O9gS5yLHlo
My colleagues Richard Partington and Rob Davies have written a story about the potentially “severe” damage the PM’s new backstop proposals could inflict on Northern Ireland’s economy.
My colleagues Richard Partington and Rob Davies have written a story about the potentially “severe” damage the PM’s new backstop proposals could inflict on Northern Ireland’s economy.
Boris Johnson Brexit plan 'risks damaging Northern Ireland economy'
Boris Johnson Brexit plan 'risks damaging Northern Ireland economy'
Meanwhile, the Domestic Abuse Bill has passed its second reading in parliament without a vote, unanimously supported by MPs. A carry over motion was passed to ensure the bill does not collapse if parliament is prorogued again next week.
Meanwhile, the Domestic Abuse Bill has passed its second reading in parliament without a vote, unanimously supported by MPs. A carry over motion was passed to ensure the bill does not collapse if parliament is prorogued again next week.
This from Jess Phillips MP:
This from Jess Phillips MP:
Minister has announced that today there is a carry over motion so the Domestic Abuse Bill will not fall again in Prorogation 2.0. For all who raised their voices thanks so much.
Minister has announced that today there is a carry over motion so the Domestic Abuse Bill will not fall again in Prorogation 2.0. For all who raised their voices thanks so much.
This from Brigid Fowler, senior researcher at the Hansard Society:
This from Brigid Fowler, senior researcher at the Hansard Society:
#DomesticAbuseBill has received its 2rd reading & the carry-over motion has just been agreed, so the Bill will survive next week's prorogation, & proceedings can continue on it in the new parly session (assuming prorogation & new session happen as gov plans)
#DomesticAbuseBill has received its 2rd reading & the carry-over motion has just been agreed, so the Bill will survive next week's prorogation, & proceedings can continue on it in the new parly session (assuming prorogation & new session happen as gov plans)
For those of you wondering what the implications of another prorogation of parliament would be - it’s not entirely clear at this point.
For those of you wondering what the implications of another prorogation of parliament would be - it’s not entirely clear at this point.
What is for certain is that the Supreme Court judgment that ruled the last prorogation unlawful did not preclude the possibility of another, shorter prorogation, a detail the government is leaning on now.
What is for certain is that the Supreme Court judgment that ruled the last prorogation unlawful did not preclude the possibility of another, shorter prorogation, a detail the government is leaning on now.
Another prorogation on Tuesday would get the PM out of PMQs, which he will surely be criticised for by MPs.
Another prorogation on Tuesday would get the PM out of PMQs, which he will surely be criticised for by MPs.
This from ITV’s Robert Peston:
This from ITV’s Robert Peston:
A couple of things about Queen’s Speech on 14 October. Will MPs try to block short prorogation at end of next week? And when vote of government’s programme comes on 21 or 22 October, and when government is defeated, how at that point could Boris Johnson continue in office? Murky
A couple of things about Queen’s Speech on 14 October. Will MPs try to block short prorogation at end of next week? And when vote of government’s programme comes on 21 or 22 October, and when government is defeated, how at that point could Boris Johnson continue in office? Murky
Here the full statement of Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar following a call with Boris Johnson:
Here the full statement of Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar following a call with Boris Johnson:
The Taoiseach and the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson spoke by phone this evening, shortly before 6pm.
The Taoiseach and the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson spoke by phone this evening, shortly before 6pm.
They discussed the latest proposals from the UK.
They discussed the latest proposals from the UK.
The Taoiseach said the proposals do not fully meet the agreed objectives of the backstop.
The Taoiseach said the proposals do not fully meet the agreed objectives of the backstop.
However, he indicated that he would study them in further detail, and would consult with the EU institutions, including the Task Force and our EU partners.
However, he indicated that he would study them in further detail, and would consult with the EU institutions, including the Task Force and our EU partners.
The Taoiseach expects to speak with European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and with other EU heads of Government over the coming days.
The Taoiseach expects to speak with European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and with other EU heads of Government over the coming days.
This will include the Swedish and Danish Prime Ministers, with whom the Taoiseach has bilateral meetings on Thursday and Friday in their capitals.
This will include the Swedish and Danish Prime Ministers, with whom the Taoiseach has bilateral meetings on Thursday and Friday in their capitals.
The Taoiseach said he wants to see a deal agreed and ratified, and will continue to work in unity with our EU partners to this end.
The Taoiseach said he wants to see a deal agreed and ratified, and will continue to work in unity with our EU partners to this end.
The Taoiseach and the Prime Minister agreed they would speak again next week.
The Taoiseach and the Prime Minister agreed they would speak again next week.
This just in from my colleague Lisa O’Carroll, the Guardian’s Brexit correspondent:
Leo Varadkar has spoken to Boris Johnson by phone and told him they do not fully meet the objectives of the backstop, but has said he will study them. https://t.co/BHW3hMSUJ9
Here the full statement of MSP and Constitutional Affairs secretary Michael Russell, in response to Boris Johnson’s latest Brexit proposals to the EU. (It echoes remarks Nicola Sturgeon made earlier this afternoon.)
It looks like these proposals are designed to fail and that the UK Government is intent on pursuing a ‘no deal’.
This plan does not appear to be a serious basis for negotiation. The UK Government is pulling back from previous undertakings and demanding the EU makes concessions on its fundamental principles, which it will not accept.
The number one priority now is to find a way to stop the disastrous ‘no deal’ outcome which the UK Government has demonstrated it favours.
The proposals published today also show that in the longer-term the UK Government wants a much more distant relationship with the EU with all the damage to jobs and living standards that will bring.
No 10 Downing Street has just confirmed that the government will seek another prorogation of parliament next Tuesday ahead of a new Queen’s Speech on October 14.
Here the statement in full:
The Prime Minister has been consistently clear that he wants to set out a fresh legislative programme in a Queen’s Speech. He therefore intends to request that the current session of Parliament be prorogued from the evening of Tuesday 8 October, with a Queen’s Speech on Monday 14 October.
The Government will seek to strengthen public services, improve infrastructure and connectivity across the country, tackle crime and enhance the integrity of the criminal justice system, while protecting our natural environment for the long-term.
The Prime Minister has today set out a fair and reasonable compromise for replacing the backstop and securing the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union with a deal. If a deal can be agreed at European Council, a central feature of the legislative programme will be to introduce a Withdrawal Agreement Bill and move at pace to secure its passage before 31 October.
These timings would mean Parliament is prorogued for the shortest time possible to enable all the necessary logistical preparations for a State Opening to be undertaken, including those done by the House Authorities.
Prime minister Boris Johnson said:
I want to deliver on the people’s priorities.
Through a Queen’s Speech, the government will set out its plans for the NHS, schools, tackling crime, investing in infrastructure and building a strong economy.
We will get Brexit done on 31 October and continue delivering on these vital issues.
Hello everyone.
I’ll be gathering some reactions to the plans for a new withdrawal agreement the British government has set out this afternoon.
While the DUP and the ERG’s hardline Brexiters, many of whom have voted down Theresa May’s deal three times, seem prepared to support Boris Johnson’s proposals, others are voicing scepticism.
This from the BBC’s Nick Eardley, who quotes Michael Russell here, member of the Scottish parliament for Argyll & Bute:
Scottish Government's @Feorlean: “It looks like these proposals are designed to fail and that the UK Government is intent on pursuing a ‘no deal’.... This plan does not appear to be a serious basis for negotiation."
Downing Street has confirmed that Boris Johnson has spoken to Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, and Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach (PM) about his plan this after. He is due to hold further talks with his EU counterparts in the coming days.
That’s all from me for today. My colleague Jedidajah Otte is taking over now.
Here is the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast, with Rowena Mason, Heather Stewart, Lisa O’Carroll, Peter Walker, Kate Andrews and Ryan Shorthouse in Manchester talking about Boris Johnson’s Brexit offer to the EU, the Tory announcements at their conference, and what’s been happening in parliament.
Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/2019/10/02-59099-gdn.pw.191002.ds.tory_party_conference.mp3
This is from Manfred Weber, the German MEP who heads the centre-right EPP group in the European parliament.
After 3 years of uncertainty the UK has finally come forward with concrete proposals. At first sight they throw most of our previous agreements out of the window. A border will be a reality in Ireland and our single market is cherry picked. Very worrying. #Brexit
Raoul Ruparel, an adviser to Theresa May on Europe when she was PM, has posted a useful Twitter thread on Boris Johnson’s plan that starts here.
A longer thread on the UK's proposals for NI based on my experience of the Brexit negotiations in past 3 years. Suffice to say at best a mixed bag, would require big concessions from EU & IRE which are unlikely. Here's why...1/
And here is his conclusion.
For all these reasons, I cannot see EU & IRE agreeing to these proposals, may not even see as basis for negotiations. I suspect they would rather gamble on an extension & election. Given I want to see UK leave with a deal, I hope I am wrong & wish Govt the best of luck. 11/ END
Boris Johnson’s plan for an alternative to the backstop is set out in two documents that have been published - his four-page letter to Jean-Claude Juncker (pdf) and a seven-page explanatory note (pdf). There is also a legal text, but that has not been published.
Here are the main points.
Johnson has backed away from claims that this is a final, take-it-or-leave-it offer to the EU. No 10 was briefing this line last night, and some ministers used the term “final offer”. (See 10am.) But Johnson did not use this language in his conference speech. (See 12.56pm.) And in his letter to Juncker Johnson strongly hints that further changes might be acceptable. He says:
This letter sets out what I regard as a reasonable compromise: the broad landing zone in which I believe a deal can begin to take shape.
Johnson admits that his overall plan for Brexit is different to Theresa May’s, and that he wants the UK to end up less aligned to the EU than she proposed. He often implies that the only thing he disliked about her deal was the backstop. But in his letter to Juncker he says, more explicitly than he usually does, that the argument about the backstop is also an argument about Brexit’s final destination. He says:
The backstop acted as a bridge to a proposed future relationship with the EU in which the UK would be closely integrated with EU customs arrangements and would align with EU law in many areas. That proposed future relationship is not the goal of the current UK government. The government intends that the future relationship should be based on a free trade agreement in which the UK takes control of its own regulatory affairs and trade policy. In these circumstances the proposed “backstop” is a bridge to nowhere, and a new way forward must be found.
Johnson’s plan essentially replaces a UK-wide backstop with a Northern Ireland (NI) only backstop (which is what was originally planned before May proposed the UK-wide one to satisfy the DUP). Under May’s plan the whole of the UK would have stayed in the customs union, and NI would also have stayed bound by some single market (regulatory) rules. Johnson has reverted to a NI-only model, with two features: Northern Ireland staying in an all-island regulatory zone for goods, meaning a regulatory border down the Irish Sea; but Northern Ireland staying in UK customs territory, meaning a customs border in Ireland.
Northern Ireland would be in an all-island regulatory zone for goods including agrifoods. In his letter Johnson says:
For as long as it exists, this zone would eliminate all regulatory checks for trade in goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland by ensuring that goods regulations in Northern Ireland are the same as those in the rest of the EU.
The UK government has accepted that this would involve more checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain. The explanatory note says:
Building on the existing practice established to maintain the single epidemiological unit (SEU) on the island of Ireland, Northern Ireland would align with EU SPS rules, including those relating to the placing on the market of agri-food goods. Agrifood goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain would do so via a border inspection post or designated point of entry as required by EU law, building on the provisions that already exist to support the SEU. They would be subject to identity and documentary checks and physical examination by UK authorities as required by the relevant EU rules.
The Northern Ireland assembly would have to vote for Northern Ireland to stay in the all-island regulatory zone - before it took effect from January 2021 (when the transition period is due to end) and every four years afterwards. Johnson says in his letter.
This regulatory zone must depend on the consent of those affected by it. This is essential to the acceptability of arrangements under which part of the UK accepts the rules of a different political entity. It is fundamental to democracy. We are proposing that the Northern Ireland executive and assembly should have the opportunity to endorse those arrangements before they enter into force, that is, during the transition period, and every four years afterwards. If consent is not secured, the arrangements will lapse. The same should apply to the single electricity market, which raises the same principles.
This is an essential element of the proposal, but there are at least three potential drawbacks. First, there is no power-sharing executive at the moment, because it has been suspended for nearly three years. Second, this would give the DUP a veto; they would have the power to take NI out of the arrangements. (So would Sinn Fein, but they would not want to do that.) And, third, as the government briefing earlier revealed (see 4.16pm), it is not very clear what would happen if the NI assembly did vote to abandon the arrangement. After a year NI would default to “existing rules”, but that begs the question as to what new arrangements might be needed at the border.
Johnson accepts that goods going between Ireland and Northern Ireland would be subject to customs rules, but he claims there would be no need for checks at or near the border. In his letter he says:
We are proposing that all customs processes needed to ensure compliance with the UK and EU customs regimes should take place on a decentralised basis, with paperwork conducted electronically as goods move between the two countries, and with the very small number of physical checks needed conducted at traders’ premises or other points on the supply chain.
Johnson has admitted that the details of how these new customs rules would work have yet to be finalised. In his letter he goes on:
To enable this, we should both put in place specific, workable improvements and simplifications to existing customs rules between now and the end of the transition period, in the spirit of finding flexible and creative solutions to these particular circumstances.
The explanatory note goes even further, saying that although the arrangement would be based on existing customs legislation, the intention would be to amend that legislation. It says:
The intention is to make a series of simplifications and improvements to that legislation which will ensure that the commitment in the new protocol to ensure no checks or infrastructure at the border will be fulfilled by the end of the transition period.
This implies the EU would be expected to changes its customs rules to accommodate the UK’s wishes.
And he has also admitted that the customs arrangements for goods crossing the north/south Irish border would involve some physical checks. The explanatory note says goods would be imported or exported via a transit mechanism or a prior declaration mechanism. It does on:
Under either process the relevant customs authority will be notified that the consignment has entered their customs territory. Either mechanism would link the movement of the consignment over the border with the information provided to the customs authority, which could identify any goods requiring customs interventions. Physical checks – which would continue to be required only on a very small proportion of movements based on risk assessment – could then take place at traders’ premises or other designated locations which could be located anywhere in Ireland or Northern Ireland.
The note says there would be no need for checks to take place “at, or even near” the border. But the concern in Ireland is that customs officials and customs centres could become a target for terrorists, wherever they are.
Johnson proposes an investment package for Northern Ireland. In his letter he writes:
In order to support Northern Ireland through this transition, and in collaboration with others with an interest, this government proposes a New Deal for Northern Ireland, with appropriate commitments to help boost economic growth and Northern Ireland’s competitiveness, and to support infrastructure projects, particularly with a cross-border focus.
No 10 has not said how much money might be available to NI, but this plan reflects the idea floated by Sajid Javid, the chancellor, when he was a Tory leadership candidate, for a payout worth hundreds of millions to be used as a means of solving the border problem.
Boris Johnson has spoken to Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president. Juncker has not rejected the PM’s plan outright, and in fact he has welcomed some aspects
Here is an extract from the commission’s statement about the talks.
President Juncker welcomed Prime Minister Johnson’s determination to advance the talks ahead of the October European Council and make progress towards a deal. He acknowledged the positive advances, notably with regards to the full regulatory alignment for all goods and the control of goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain. However, the president also noted that there are still some problematic points that will need further work in the coming days, notably with regards to the governance of the backstop. The delicate balance struck by the Good Friday agreement must be preserved. Another concern that needs to be addressed are the substantive customs rules. He also stressed that we must have a legally operational solution that meets all the objectives of the backstop: preventing a hard border, preserving north-south cooperation and the all-island economy, and protecting the EU’s single market and Ireland’s place in it.
President Juncker confirmed to Prime Minister Johnson that the commission will now examine the legal text objectively, and in light of our well-known criteria.
The EU wants a deal. We remain united and ready to work 24/7 to make this happen – as we have been for over three years now.
The UK and EU negotiating teams will meet in Brussels over the coming days.
