Amber Rudd defies Number 10 to become the first Cabinet member to openly discuss a ‘Plan B’ – after Norway said Britain could not have the same deal it has with the EU
- Norway-style compromise is gaining support in Parliament as May’s hopes fade
- The idea is loathed by Brexiteers but may command a majority in the Commons
- There are claims as many as 10 serving Cabinet ministers could endorse the idea
- But Norweigian MPs have insisted the option is not available in any event
Amber Rudd has become the first Cabinet minster to suggest that a Norway-style Brexit is a suitable ‘Plan B’ to the Prime Minister’s deal.
Under the Norway-plus plan, the UK would remain in the single market and customs union, which would remove the need to use the Irish backstop provision.
In an interview with The Times, the Work and Pensions Secretary said a Norway-style arrangement ‘seems plausible not just in terms of the country but in terms of where the MPs are’.
Amber Rudd (pictured) has said a Norway-style arrangement ‘seems plausible not just in terms of the country but in terms of where the MPs are’
Senior Norwegian politicians have warned Britain cannot have the same deal enjoyed by their country even if Theresa May’s deal is defeated.
It was claimed today that at least 10 Cabinet ministers could back a Norway-style Brexit to break the impasse.
Under the Norway-plus plan, the UK would remain in the single market and customs union, which would remove the need to use the Irish backstop provision.
It would also protect current trade links with the EU – but it would fail to deliver on key Brexiteer promises over free movement and sovereignty.
Norwegian MP Heidi Nordby Lunde told The Guardian it was ‘not an option’.
She said: ‘Really, the Norwegian option is not an option.
‘We have been telling you this for one and a half years since the referendum and how this works, so I am surprised that after all these years it is still part of the grown-up debate in the UK.
‘You just expect us to give you an invitation rather than consider whether Norway would want to give you such an invitation.
‘It might be in your interest to use our agreement, but it would not be in our interest.’
Norwegian MP Heidi Nordby Lunde (file) Britain cannot have the same deal enjoyed by her country even if Theresa May’s deal is defeated
Despite the warning Labour MP Stephen Kinnock said the warring Brexit tribes needed to put aside their differences.
Backing Norway, he said: ‘We understand that there are at least 10 Cabinet ministers who are supporting this arrangement.’
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘What we need the Prime Minister to do, when she loses the vote on Tuesday, is to go on to the steps of Downing Street and make a very clear statement that we must pivot now to Norway-plus.’
A Norwegian-style compromise is opposed by many Eurosceptics, who believe it will amount to ‘Brexit in name only’, and by former Remainers who are pushing for a second referendum.
Despite the warning Labour MP Stephen Kinnock (file) said the warring Brexit tribes needed to put aside their differences
There is also resistance within Europe about the possibility of an economy the size of the UK joining the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and European Economic Area (EEA) along with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
The People’s Vote campaign, which wants a second referendum, published a dossier condemning the Norway-plus proposal.
It was claimed today that at least 10 Cabinet ministers could back a Norway-style Brexit to break the impasse if Theresa May’s deal is crushed on Tuesday night
In a joint foreword, Labour former foreign secretary David Miliband and Tory ex-minister Jo Johnson – who quit his Government role in November over Brexit – said: ‘Norway-plus would represent a long-term commitment to pay to benefit from the European Union’s regulatory structures while choosing to be outside it.’
They added that while rejoining EFTA may limit the economic damage it would represent a ‘significant loss of power’ and influence.
‘Both sides would be entitled to ask, if the past two and a half years of upheaval and tortuous negotiation culminated in a Norway-plus deal, what was the point of all that?’
Mr Johnson said the arrangement would turn the UK into a ‘nation of lobbyists’ seeking to influence rules set in Brussels over which it had no say.
But Tory ex-minister Nick Boles said: ‘Norway-plus is a compromise that has broad appeal to the pragmatic middle.
‘It delivers a softish Brexit with a deal that preserves membership of the single market and keeps the union of the UK intact.’