Boris Johnson has vowed Tory MPs will not let Theresa May steer the country toward a soft Brexit, despite her moves to potentially broker a deal with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Mrs May paved the way for a customs union deal with Labour last night as she pledged to ‘compromise’ to ensure Brexit happens.
In an informal statement aimed directly at voters, Mrs May argued she had no choice but to try to find a cross-party agreement with Jeremy Corbyn because otherwise Britain might not leave the EU at all.
She said the referendum campaign was not fought on party lines and the public wanted to see politicians ‘working together more often’.
Boris Johnson has vowed Tory MPs will not let Theresa May steer the country toward a soft Brexit
But Mrs May’s approach is flatly contradicted by Mr Johnson today. Writing in The Daily Telegraph he says remaining in a customs union ‘would make a total and utter nonsense of the referendum result’.
He claims the Tories would be ‘tearing up a promise made thousands of times in Parliament and elsewhere’ by acceding to Mr Corbyn’s custom union demands.
He adds: ‘We would be out of the EU, but in many ways still run by the EU. It would be the worst of both worlds, not just now, but forever – and that is why I find the news so appalling that I don’t really believe it.’
Formal talks between No 10 and Labour broke down on Friday night, but are expected to begin again today after informal contact over the weekend.
In an attempt to break the deadlock, Mrs May could agree to accept elements of Labour’s plan for a ‘softer’ Brexit, including a customs union and alignment with EU rules on employment and the environment. No 10 is also considering whether to make elements of the deal legally binding to prevent them being torn up by Mrs May’s successor. Dubbed a ‘Boris-lock’ (after Mr Johnson), this would mean putting into law some elements of the agreement so a parliamentary vote would be needed to overturn them.
Theresa May paved the way for a customs union deal with Labour last night as she pledged to ‘compromise’ to ensure Brexit happens
Allies of the Prime Minister say she is determined to make progress in the talks as she prepares to travel to Brussels on Wednesday, to seek a further extension to Article 50. She has asked for a delay until June 30 with a break clause to allow the UK to leave ahead of European elections on May 22 if a deal has passed by then.
Germany is thought to be sympathetic to a shorter extension, but France is resisting. EU Council president Donald Tusk has suggested the break clause could be accepted,
