Brexit Minister Suella Fernandes says it won’t be a “walk in the park” but the UK “can thrive in a no deal scenario”. As long as the government has done the ground work to prepare…
Suella denies being a Brexiteer sleeper agent. Ironically many Brexiteers think she was asleep on the job when she headed up the ERG and the Northern Irish backstop was slipped through…
Michael Gove praises PM’s deal that he says “guarantees the rights of UK citizens abroad as well as the 3m EU citizens here” #r4today pic.twitter.com/aiPVO9rIih
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) 8 December 2017
The Prime Minister has made important decisions in the national interest so we can move ahead to a successful EU exit. I am giving my full support https://t.co/vRrfAddMIL
— Steve Baker MP (@SteveBakerHW) 8 December 2017
Pragmatic & flexible. Great news that we are moving onto the next stage of negotiations. Credit to @Number10gov for all efforts on this. pic.twitter.com/pPZ3Z6sYZ2
— Suella Fernandes MP (@SuellaFernandes) 8 December 2017
Senior Tory Brexiteers are cautiously backing the deal and think this still means we are heading towards a proper Brexit. But they are under no illusions it’s a fudge and the real battle on the end state is yet to come…
As Guido reported on Wednesday morning, the government’s proposals on ending the jurisdiction of the ECJ broadly have the support of Tory Brexiteers. Jacob Rees-Mogg, one of Leave MPs who tends to be more sceptical of the government, says: “The clear principle is one I am very happy with… The ECJ goes from being the supreme court of the United Kingdom to being another foreign court and that is a really important change”. The European Research Group of Brexiteer Tory MPs said last night: “The ERG welcomes the Government’s position papers… it is undeniable that the UK will no longer be subject to the jurisdiction of the ECJ, enabling our Supreme Court to be the final court of appeal”.
Suella Fernandes, chairman of the ERG, notes we need a bespoke mechanism rather than to simply join the EFTA court:
“The EFTA Court option probably would not suit the Prime Minister’s requirement of ending the jurisdiction of the ECJ as it follows ECJ precedent. Whatever model emerges will be unique, reflecting our new and wide-ranging relationship with the EU, commanding the confidence of both sides, outside ECJ supremacy”
We wrote on Wednesday that the government was not looking to join the EFTA court but rather copy aspects of it. This means a bespoke system. It remains to be seen exactly what the new mechanism will look like and whether it will meet Leavers’ wishes on sovereignty. To do that it needs to make sure we are not staying in the ECJ by the back door. As they are pointing out over on BrexitCentral, a merely technical exit isn’t good enough. One to watch, though Tory Brexiteers are encouraged by what they have seen…
