BRITAIN will retain freedom of movement for EU workers “by another name,” Tory rebel Brexiteers have claimed, as they denounced Theresa May’s plan as a total sell-out to Brussels.
The 98-page UK Government White Paper that expands on the Prime Minister’s compromise Chequers Plan is a confirmation of her softer approach to Brexit, which led to two Cabinet ministers resigning and has enraged the Brexiteer faction in her own party.
Under what is described as an “association agreement,” the Government insists free movement will end but goes on to say how new "mobility" rules will allow visa-free travel for tourism and temporary work by EU citizens, permitting companies to move talented staff between countries.
Also, the Government’s proposed customs solution – the facilitated customs arrangement - will have a "phased" implementation; Whitehall sources have suggested this will not be completed until mid-2022, two years after the end of the transition period.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, who leads the 60-strong group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs, unleashed a fierce attack on the Government paper, saying: "The overall consequence is that we will be a rule-taker, de-facto subject to the European Court of Justice and it's hard to believe that there is even a tinge of pink left in Mrs May's red line on this.”
Suggesting the PM had broken her promises given in her earlier keynote speeches, he declared: “We have not known such vassalage to the continent since King John paid homage to the King of France in 1200.”
The Somerset MP insisted his party leader’s policy on immigration meant nothing as it kept open the “option of free movement by another name” and added: “This White Paper has not needed age to turn yellow.”
In a Commons statement, Dominic Raab, the new Brexit Secretary, said the paper set out a vision for "a bold, ambitious and innovative new partnership with the EU, principled and practical, faithful to the referendum; it delivers a deal that is good for the UK and good for our EU friends”.
The Government, he explained, wanted to maintain parts of a “common rulebook” for goods to maintain "frictionless trade at the border" after Brexit and so avoid a hard Irish border.
While the European Court will shape the trade rules, Mr Raab sought to reassure MPs, saying control of laws would be taken back by means of a “parliamentary lock” on the process and that MPs would have “proper democratic oversight”.
A new governing body would police the new institutional arrangements through which, the paper said, the UK Government "will represent the interests of all parts of the UK in this forum, ensuring the interests of the devolved administrations are taken into account”.
But Fiona Hyslop for the Scottish Government said the paper offered “little reassurance for those worried about the impact that leaving the EU will have on our economy; quite simply, these plans fall short and will harm our economy”.
The SNP administration’s External Affairs Secretary said it would “argue for much greater engagement with the UK Government to ensure Scotland's interests are protected".
In the Commons chamber, Mr Raab’s first appearance at the dispatch box in his new role descended into chaotic scenes as Labour MPs erupted in uproar, shouting “disgrace,” because they had not had prior sight of the paper when the Secretary of State rose to his feet.
To make the MPs’ sense of outrage worse, it was pointed out how journalists had been briefed by Whitehall officials and had had sight of the policy document before parliamentarians got to see it.
Such was the tumult on the green benches that John Bercow, the Speaker, had to suspend the sitting until MPs were able to get copies, which were handed out by their colleagues from boxes obtained from Westminster officials.
Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer, denounced the Government’s handling of the launch, telling MPs: "The utter shambles of the last 20 minutes that led to the suspension of the House during a statement is clear evidence of why the Government is in such a mess."
The SNP’s Pete Wishart said the incident summed up the “whole chaotic and clueless Brexit as prosecuted by this shambles of a Government”.
He added: “The White Paper was supposed to deliver Cabinet unity, but all it has done, as we have seen, is demonstrate the divisions. Scotland did not vote for any of this, so can the Secretary of State perhaps suggest a way that Scotland might be spared this madness?”
Mr Raab, to Conservative cheers, replied: “We voted in the referendum as one country and we need to respect it as one country.”
Earlier, Donald Trump, who is in Britain for, among other things, a working lunch with Mrs May, when they will discuss Brexit, appeared to question the PM’s Brexit strategy.
He told reporters "I would say Brexit is Brexit. The people voted to break it up so I would imagine that's what they would do but maybe they're taking a different route. I don't know if that is what they voted for."
In response, Mrs May said: “We have come to an agreement which absolutely delivers what people voted for.”
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