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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/20/gove-triggers-no-deal-brexit-contingency-plans-operation-yellowhammer
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Michael Gove triggers no-deal Brexit contingency plans | Michael Gove triggers no-deal Brexit contingency plans |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Michael Gove has triggered official contingency plans for no deal, as the government manoeuvred to try to pressure MPs into backing its Brexit deal by invoking the threat of the EU refusing to grant another departure extension. | Michael Gove has triggered official contingency plans for no deal, as the government manoeuvred to try to pressure MPs into backing its Brexit deal by invoking the threat of the EU refusing to grant another departure extension. |
| Labour could back Brexit bill if second referendum attached, says Starmer | Labour could back Brexit bill if second referendum attached, says Starmer |
| Gove, whose cabinet role involves leading on no-deal preparations, said the government had begun the Operation Yellowhammer contingency plan, and that he would chair the no-deal cabinet subcommittee later on Sunday. | Gove, whose cabinet role involves leading on no-deal preparations, said the government had begun the Operation Yellowhammer contingency plan, and that he would chair the no-deal cabinet subcommittee later on Sunday. |
| “The risk of leaving without a deal has actually increased because we cannot guarantee that the European council will grant an extension,” Gove told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday show. “And that is why I will later today be chairing a cabinet committee meeting – extraordinarily, on a Sunday – in order to ensure that the next stage of our exit preparations and our preparedness for no deal is accelerated. | “The risk of leaving without a deal has actually increased because we cannot guarantee that the European council will grant an extension,” Gove told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday show. “And that is why I will later today be chairing a cabinet committee meeting – extraordinarily, on a Sunday – in order to ensure that the next stage of our exit preparations and our preparedness for no deal is accelerated. |
| “It means that we are triggering Operation Yellowhammer. It means that we are preparing to ensure that if no extension is granted – and we cannot guarantee that an extension will be granted – that we have done everything possible in order to prepare to leave without a deal.” | |
| There is no particular indication that the EU would refuse an extension if needed, and Gove’s comments seem primarily aimed at increasing pressure on MPs to back Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal after the Commons voted on Saturday to withhold immediate support until it could scrutinise the surrounding legislation. | |
| This prompted a backbench-instigated law obliging the prime minister to send a letter to the EU seeking a delay beyond 31 October, which Johnson did – albeit accompanied by another letter arguing against this. | |
| The new Brexit deal is essentially the old Brexit deal with a new chapter on the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and a few key tweaks to the political declaration. Here is a link to the full text. | The new Brexit deal is essentially the old Brexit deal with a new chapter on the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and a few key tweaks to the political declaration. Here is a link to the full text. |
| The backstop has essentially been replaced by a full stop whereby Northern Ireland remains aligned to the EU from the end of the transition period for at least four years. A change can only happen if it is voted on by the Stormont assembly. | The backstop has essentially been replaced by a full stop whereby Northern Ireland remains aligned to the EU from the end of the transition period for at least four years. A change can only happen if it is voted on by the Stormont assembly. |
| Stormont will have a key role in future Brexit arrangements. And if there is cross-community support to remain aligned to the EU rather than the UK the consent will hold for eight years. | Stormont will have a key role in future Brexit arrangements. And if there is cross-community support to remain aligned to the EU rather than the UK the consent will hold for eight years. |
| The arrangements in this deal will automatically kick in for a mandated four years if there is a breakdown in trade talks, so it remains a “backstop” but with a permanent tinge. | The arrangements in this deal will automatically kick in for a mandated four years if there is a breakdown in trade talks, so it remains a “backstop” but with a permanent tinge. |
| That four-year period will start at the end of December 2020. | That four-year period will start at the end of December 2020. |
| Two months before the end of the four-year period, that is October 2024, Stormont will be asked to vote on whether to remain aligned to the EU in ways outlined by this deal or not. | Two months before the end of the four-year period, that is October 2024, Stormont will be asked to vote on whether to remain aligned to the EU in ways outlined by this deal or not. |
| Under the deal, the UK and the EU are “underlining their firm commitment to no customs and regulatory checks or controls and related physical infrastructure at the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland”. | Under the deal, the UK and the EU are “underlining their firm commitment to no customs and regulatory checks or controls and related physical infrastructure at the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland”. |
| The EU and the UK will aim for a zero-tariff deal with unlimited quotas. The entire UK, including Northern Ireland, will be free to sign trade deals. The line in the political declaration that “the United Kingdom will consider aligning with union rules in relevant areas” in any future trade talks has been ditched. | The EU and the UK will aim for a zero-tariff deal with unlimited quotas. The entire UK, including Northern Ireland, will be free to sign trade deals. The line in the political declaration that “the United Kingdom will consider aligning with union rules in relevant areas” in any future trade talks has been ditched. |
| Northern Ireland will remain legally in the UK customs territory but practically in the EU customs unions. There will therefore be no customs checks on the border but tariffs will be payable on certain commercial goods. | Northern Ireland will remain legally in the UK customs territory but practically in the EU customs unions. There will therefore be no customs checks on the border but tariffs will be payable on certain commercial goods. |
| No customs duties will be payable on “personal property” being transited from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. That protects online shopping and all items bought for personal rather than commercial use. | No customs duties will be payable on “personal property” being transited from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. That protects online shopping and all items bought for personal rather than commercial use. |
| Customs duties will be payable on goods imported from the UK for commercial use unless it can be demonstrated that the goods remain in Northern Ireland or are for personal use, as above. | Customs duties will be payable on goods imported from the UK for commercial use unless it can be demonstrated that the goods remain in Northern Ireland or are for personal use, as above. |
| A system of rebates will allow importers to be reimbursed. | A system of rebates will allow importers to be reimbursed. |
| The commitment to frictionless trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain is restated. | The commitment to frictionless trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain is restated. |
| EU law on VAT will apply in Northern Ireland. | EU law on VAT will apply in Northern Ireland. |
| The island of Ireland is considering a single market for electricity so homes in Northern Ireland can get their energy from a supplier in Northern Ireland or the republic. There were fears this could be disrupted by Brexit. Under the Johnson deal, the provisions of union law remain so nothing will change. | The island of Ireland is considering a single market for electricity so homes in Northern Ireland can get their energy from a supplier in Northern Ireland or the republic. There were fears this could be disrupted by Brexit. Under the Johnson deal, the provisions of union law remain so nothing will change. |
| This guarantees that the UK will remain in line with EU conventions on climate, environment and workers rights in a future trade agreement. | This guarantees that the UK will remain in line with EU conventions on climate, environment and workers rights in a future trade agreement. |
| Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent | Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent |
| Gove insisted the UK would definitely leave on 31 October, saying he had made a bet with Matt Hancock, the health secretary, that it would happen. | Gove insisted the UK would definitely leave on 31 October, saying he had made a bet with Matt Hancock, the health secretary, that it would happen. |
| “We are going to leave by 31 October,” he said. “We have the means and the ability to do so … yesterday we had some people who voted for delay, voted explicitly to try to frustrate this process and to drag it out. I think actually the mood in the country is clear and the prime minister’s determination is absolute and I am with him in this: we must leave by 31 October.” | “We are going to leave by 31 October,” he said. “We have the means and the ability to do so … yesterday we had some people who voted for delay, voted explicitly to try to frustrate this process and to drag it out. I think actually the mood in the country is clear and the prime minister’s determination is absolute and I am with him in this: we must leave by 31 October.” |
| At the same time as threatening no deal, Gove lavished praise on former Conservative MPs such as Amber Rudd, the former work and pensions secretary, who quit the government and party last month in protest at Johnson seemingly being intent on no deal. | At the same time as threatening no deal, Gove lavished praise on former Conservative MPs such as Amber Rudd, the former work and pensions secretary, who quit the government and party last month in protest at Johnson seemingly being intent on no deal. |
| Rudd told the Sophy Ridge show earlier that she had backed the amendment on Saturday not to seek a delay but as “an insurance policy”, to try to prevent hardline Brexiter MPs forcing a no-deal outcome at a later point in the process. | Rudd told the Sophy Ridge show earlier that she had backed the amendment on Saturday not to seek a delay but as “an insurance policy”, to try to prevent hardline Brexiter MPs forcing a no-deal outcome at a later point in the process. |
| EU will wait until MPs debate Brexit deal before extension decision | EU will wait until MPs debate Brexit deal before extension decision |
| “I support the prime minister’s deal, and I have told him I will support it next week,” Rudd said. “I understand people’s fatigue – let me tell you, I suffer from it myself – but we have to make sure we don’t leave with no deal.” | “I support the prime minister’s deal, and I have told him I will support it next week,” Rudd said. “I understand people’s fatigue – let me tell you, I suffer from it myself – but we have to make sure we don’t leave with no deal.” |
| Rudd said she expected most of the larger group of ex-Tory MPs who lost the party whip for rebelling over Brexit to also back the deal – though, she said, it was not as good as the one put forward by Theresa May and could damage the economy. | Rudd said she expected most of the larger group of ex-Tory MPs who lost the party whip for rebelling over Brexit to also back the deal – though, she said, it was not as good as the one put forward by Theresa May and could damage the economy. |
| Johnson’s plan was “less good” for the union in terms of both Scotland and Northern Ireland, Rudd said, saying she understood the reasons why the Democratic Unionist party did not back it. | Johnson’s plan was “less good” for the union in terms of both Scotland and Northern Ireland, Rudd said, saying she understood the reasons why the Democratic Unionist party did not back it. |
| Asked about its economic impact, Rudd said: “Our government’s own assessments are that it will hurt the economy, I think, by 4% to 6% a year. So it’s serious stuff. But I still think that it’s the right thing to do, because we had the referendum in 2016, and there’s other steps we can take to try and mitigate that.” | Asked about its economic impact, Rudd said: “Our government’s own assessments are that it will hurt the economy, I think, by 4% to 6% a year. So it’s serious stuff. But I still think that it’s the right thing to do, because we had the referendum in 2016, and there’s other steps we can take to try and mitigate that.” |
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