May threatens to keep Cabinet all night at Brexit summit

Theresa May is threatening to keep her Brexit war Cabinet at Chequers all night to thrash out a plan for negotiations with Brussels.

The Prime Minister is due to gather senior ministers at her country residence on Thursday to discuss the ‘end state’ of relations with the EU.

Mrs May has been struggling to forge a united position as Brexiteer and Remain factions within her top team clash over how close ties should be. 

She has been mooting a compromise that could see Britain vow to keep EU standards initially to minimise disruption to trade.

The Prime Minister (pictured giving a speech in the Midlands yesterday) is due to gather senior ministers at her country residence to discuss the ‘end state’ of relations with the EU

Boris Johnson, pictured out running with Australian counterpart Julie Bishop this morning, wants a clean break from the EU

Boris Johnson, pictured out running with Australian counterpart Julie Bishop this morning, wants a clean break from the EU

Mr Johnson looked slightly less badraggled as he arrived for the regular Cabinet meeting later

Home Secretary Amber Rudd was also at the gathering of ministers in Downing Street

Mr Johnson looked slightly less bedraggled as he arrived for the regular Cabinet meeting later. Home Secretary Amber Rudd was also at the gathering of ministers in Downing Street

David Davis gave a speech in Vienna today setting out his vision for post-Brexit Britain

David Davis gave a speech in Vienna today setting out his vision for post-Brexit Britain

But she is expected to try to win over senior figures such as Boris Johnson and Michael Gove by insisting the UK will be able to move away from Brussels regulations over time.

According to the Financial Times, Downing Street has told ministers to clear their diaries for the afternoon and evening and is insisting the main points must be decided.

The PM is hoping to hammer out the government’s position and deliver her own keynote speech on Brexit before a crunch EU summit next month – when the terms of a transition deal should be finalised.  

Former Foreign Secretary Lord Hague warned today that failure by ministers to agree could propel Jeremy Corbyn into power.

Writing in the Telegraph, he said the Cabinet discussions would be one of the ‘most important deliberations of their political lives’. 

‘If they can come up with a plan for our future trading with the EU that is workable, acceptable to the Conservative Party, can command a majority in Parliament and be negotiated with Brussels, the prize is huge: the delivery of a successful exit from the European Union and the confounding of critics across the continent,’ Lord Hague said.

‘If they fail to do so, the consequences are unknowable but might include the collapse of their administration.

Energy minister Claire Perry

Culture Secretary Matt Hancock

Energy minister Claire Perry and Culture Secretary Matt Hancock were also at the regular Cabinet meeting in Downing Street today 

Former Foreign Secretary Lord Hague warned today that failure by ministers to agree could propel Jeremy Corbyn into power (file picture)

Former Foreign Secretary Lord Hague warned today that failure by ministers to agree could propel Jeremy Corbyn into power (file picture)

The meeting comes amid a series of speeches by senior ministers setting out their vision for post-Brexit Britain. 

David Davis took aim at Brussels today over scaremongering claims that British workers will be left at a greater risk of cancer.

The Brexit Secretary said leaving the EU will not plunge the UK into a ‘Mad Max-style world borrowed from dystopian fiction’, and that ministers will use the opportunity to improve standards.

In a speech in Vienna, Mr Davis said Britain may choose to move away from EU regulations, but that the country’s ‘blueprint for life outside of Europe is a race to the top in global standards, not a regression from the high standards we have now’.

Gove pledge to improve animal welfare on farms 

Improving animal welfare will be a priority after Brexit, the Environment Secretary will say today.

Farmers could be given extra state payments to treat livestock better, Michael Gove will announce.

In a speech at the National Farmers’ Union conference in Birmingham, he will say: ‘I believe investing in higher animal welfare standards and investing in improved training and education for those in agriculture and food production are clear public goods.’

He will also argue that preserving the landscape will be easier after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Gove will tell farmers their voices are now more influential as the UK can set its own standards. 

 

 



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