Tag: Cabinet (government)

It follows Boris Johnson’s departure on Monday when he became the second cabinet minister to resign in 24 hours, claiming Britain was “headed for the status of colony”. Cabinet: who's in and who's out David Davis Goes to the backbenches after kicking off the ministerial reshuffle with his resignation as Brexit secretary over Theresa May's negotiation plans. “At least half a dozen people made that point and the prime minister responded, too – what is good for the country is a Conservative government.” Earlier, Downing Street announced Johnson’s resignation as foreign secretary, just minutes before May addressed MPs about the softer Brexit plan agreed at Chequers on Friday. Many of the prime minister’s supporters believe she would win a contest and cement her authority; but May would face a leadership challenge if she lost, with Johnson among the potential candidates. Asked whether May would contest a no confidence vote, a Downing Street source said simply: “Yes.” The Guardian view on Boris Johnson’s resignation: good riddance to a national embarrassment | Editorial Read more Asked whether May was confident that the rest of her cabinet backed the negotiating position agreed at Chequers, which is due to be fleshed out in a white paper later this week, he added: “There is no reason to think otherwise.” The carefully choreographed meeting last week resulted in a deal May believed her cabinet had signed up to, which would create a “UK-EU free trade area” for goods, governed by a “common rule book”. Johnson was the cabinet minister most closely associated with Vote Leave’s controversial claim that Brexit would deliver an extra £350m a week for the NHS. Davis was replaced as Brexit secretary by fellow leaver Dominic Raab. One senior Brexiter suggested more resignations could follow in the coming weeks and months. “If you’d told me two hours ago that this is how we’d end the day, I’d have bitten your hand off.” As Johnson’s resignation was announced, Labour MPs were being briefed about the government’s soft Brexit plan by May’s de facto deputy, David Lidington, in a sign that Downing Street is beginning to accept that it will need to draw on cross-party support to get her plans through parliament, without the backing of hardline Brexiters.

After a long day of talks at Chequers, the cabinet has agreed what Theresa May hailed as a “collective position for the future of our negotiations” on Brexit. It might yet be modified amid Brussels objections or MPs’ concerns but below is the plan as agreed, as set out in a government statement: Harmonisation on goods The statement says the UK will “maintain a common rulebook for all goods” including agricultural products after Brexit, with the UK committing via treaty on continued harmonisation, thus avoiding border friction. However, the proposal says protections in areas such as the environment, employment laws and consumer protection would not fall below current levels. Joint jurisdiction of rules The plan proposes what is termed a “joint institutional framework” for interpreting UK-EU agreements, to be carried out in each jurisdiction by the respective courts. This would see the UK and EU avoid hard borders by being treated as a “combined customs territory”. Under this, the UK would apply domestic tariffs and trade policies for goods intended for the UK, and their EU equivalents for goods heading into the EU. The statement says the new arrangements would prevent a hard Irish border, ensuring the “backstop” elements of the initial withdrawal agreement would not be needed. The plan, it adds, would still give the UK an independent trade policy, with the ability to set its own non-EU tariffs and to reach separate trade deals. It also promises to end the role of the ECJ in UK affairs. This is version one.