Minister warns a No Deal Brexit would be an ‘absolute disaster

Minister warns No Deal Brexit would be an ‘absolute disaster’ for the UK in the long-term and leave the Tories out of power for DECADES

  • Transport minister George Freeman gave stark warning over No Deal Brexit
  • He said it was a ‘legitimate’ threat in talks but long-term would be a ‘disaster’
  • Mr Freeman said suspending Parliament to force Brexit would be ‘huge mistake’
  • Boris Johnson has played down impact of No Deal and refused to rule out tactic  

Failure to get a deal with the EU would be an ‘absolute disaster’ in the long-term, a minister warned today.

Transport minister George Freeman dismissed calls from ‘hardliners’ for the UK to stay on World Trade Organisation terms with the bloc.

He stressed that while No Deal was a ‘legitimate threat’ for negotiations, failure to reach an agreement would be so chaotic it could keep the Tories out of power for decades.

The comments, in a HuffPost podcast, contrast with Boris Johnson’s stance that the effects of crashing out of the EU have been overblown and can be managed. 

Mr Freeman also suggested dissolving Parliament for an election over the Brexit date – something Mr Johnson has repeatedly refused to rule out – would be a ‘huge mistake’.

And he risked contradicting Mr Johnson’s demand for the Withdrawal Agreement thrashed out by Theresa May to be scrapped. 

Transport minister George Freeman (pictured at Westminster last month) dismissed calls from ‘hardliners’ for the UK to stay on World Trade Organisation terms with the bloc

He said the package would have been signed off by the Commons with a ‘tweak’ to the Irish border backstop.   

‘Being able to use the legitimate threat of no deal to get a good deal is a perfectly acceptable strategy.

‘I do not agree with those very few hardliners who think that WTO long-term would be satisfactory.

‘I don’t at all, I think it would be an absolute disaster and politically for my party would see us out of office for two decades I think.

‘More importantly, I think it would be very damaging to the stability of this country.

‘For me, what the prime minister has said he wants to do is get a sensible deal.

‘Bear in mind we were very close to getting this deal through, a tweak to the backstop would do it.’

Mr Freeman said he did not believed the PM’s ‘instincts’ were to prorogue – suspend – Parliament to stop it blocking No Deal at the end of October.  

‘The idea of proroguing parliament, blocking parliament, would be a huge mistake,’ he said.

‘And I don’t think it’s the prime minister’s instincts, he’s a parliamentarian, he’s a Churchillian, he is a real democrat and I cannot for a moment think that’s what he’d want to do.

‘I do think if he can’t get a negotiated improvement and if parliament signals it is going to block No Deal, which he needs to be able to have as a sanction in order to get a deal, then it is quite likely we will end up by hook or by crook, one way or another, with an election.’

Boris Johnson

Dominic Cummings

Boris Johnson (pictured left on a visit near Oxford yesterday) has said some of the warnings about No Deal are overblown and can be managed. The PM’s adviser Dominic Cummings (pictured right leaving his London home today) has been masterminding his Brexit strategy

 

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk