Dismore questions Mayor over Brexit risks
At today’s Mayor’s Question Time, Andrew Dismore AM, Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden questioned the Mayor Sadiq Khan over the implications and risks of Brexit and the October deadline.
Mr Dismore said:
‘Are Londoners at risk of seeing another no-deal panic in October given that the Government is no closer to securing a deal with the EU?
‘The candidates for Conservative Party leader and PM have all been saying they will renegotiate another deal; but the EU have restated time and again that they will not reopen the agreement. Do you agree that the future Prime Minister, whichever of the remaining sorry bunch it is, must stop pulling the wool over their Party members’ eyes by pandering to their xenophobic prejudices, and tell the truth for once?
‘You have rightly said that local government – as well as businesses – need urgent clarity on what will happen once the UK leaves the European Union, so that they can put effective contingency plans in place. What are businesses supposed to do when front runner Boris Johnson’s approach to businesses’ concerns about the hard Brexit he wants to see is to say ‘F… Business’, as he did In June last year at an event for EU diplomats in London marking the queen’s official birthday?
‘The next Prime Minister could be front runner Boris Johnson, who previously supported remaining in the EU and the single market, even calling those that opposed Turkey accession to the EU as “foolish” (maybe because of his own Turkish ancestry). But what a switch his careerist opportunism delivered when there was the chance to become leader of the Conservative party, with his lies about Turkey, about £350 million a week for the NHS, and his dismissive attitude to business. Do you agree that Londoners cannot trust Boris Johnson after he abandoned their best interests to pursue his own Prime Ministerial ambitions above all other considerations?
The Mayor said that a no deal outcome would be a disaster for the country, but that it was looking more likely due to the Conservative Party leadership contest, which is fast becoming a race to the bottom to see who can take the most extreme view on Brexit. The new Prime Minister will still face deadlock in Parliament and the EU is unwilling to renegotiate. If they tried to leave without a deal, the Mayor hoped that MPs would pass a motion of no confidence, as leaving without a deal is the worst outcome for business, the next generation and the NHS.
The Mayor added that he thought the new Prime Minister should revoke Article 50, as it was prematurely triggered bv Theresa May, and devise a new plan, retriggering Article 50 if they wanted to proceed. He also warned that any Prime Minister who wanted to pursue a no-deal Brexit didn’t understand the needs of the city or country.
After MQT Mr Dismore added:
‘The recent TV debates have shown that all of the remaining contenders are living in cloud cuckoo land, making promises of a renegotiation that the EU has consistently rejected. It is time the Conservative Party and its leaders have a reality check. The only way of resolving the impasse is through a People’s Vote referendum to decide what the country should now do.’
Notes for editors
- The UK had been due to leave the EU on 29 March, but the deadline was pushed back to 31 October after Parliament was unable to agree a way forward. The hope was that a deal could be secured with the Labour Party to avoid taking part in the elections, but this has too failed.[1] Since then, Theresa May stood down as leader of the Conservative Party on 7th June, and a leadership contest is currently underway.
- The EU have restated that they will not reopen negotiations on the deal despite candidates for leader saying they will renegotiate another deal. The EU is prepared to only reopen talks on the political declaration, an aspirational document framing future trade negotiations.
- The motion tabled last week by Labour to allow Parliament to take control of parliamentary process failed, leaving little room to manoeuvre to stop a no-deal Brexit.[2]
- Carolyn Fairbairn, the director-general of the CBI, said: “This new extension means that an imminent economic crisis has been averted, but it needs to mark a fresh start. More of the same will just mean more chaos this autumn. Businesses would now only adjust their worst-case no-deal Brexit plans, rather than cancel them altogether.”[3]
- The Mayor has said that local government – as well as businesses – need urgent clarity on what will happen once the UK leaves the European Union so that they can put effective contingency plans in place.[4] However, a leaked Cabinet Office document noted that it will take “six to eight months” to build up supplies of medicines for a no-deal Brexit, meaning crashing out of the EU on the 31 October does not give us enough time to prepare for no-deal.[5]
- Conservative Party MPs are currently voting for the next leader of the Conservative Party which will become the next Prime Minister. Final ballots are scheduled to take place today to whittle down the contenders until only two are left. The final pair will then be put to a vote of members of the wider Conservative Party from 22 June, with the winner expected to be announced 22 July.[6]
- Boris Johnson, Former Foreign Secretary:
- Had previously supported remaining as close to the EU as possible back in 2013 and supported remaining within the Single Market.[7]
- Has vowed to leave the EU without a deal unless the treaty is reopened before the October 31 deadline.[8]
- The Leave campaign, of which Boris was a part of, focused on raising fears about the EU expanding to include Turkey and other countries in the East. Yet Boris was previously an advocate of Turkey becoming a member and in 2003 he told the Commons that those opposing Turkey’s potential ascension to the EU were “foolish.”[9]
- Friends of Boris had previously told Business Insider that they believed he had never really wanted to leave the EU, with one long-term ally saying that the decision to back the Leave campaign had been purely about his career.[10]
- Jeremy Hunt, Foreign Secretary:
- Jeremy Hunt has claimed Angela Merkel would be willing to renegotiate the UK’s Brexit deal and possibly the Irish border arrangements.[11]
- Michael Gove, Environment Secretary:
- Michael Gove has told cabinet colleagues he is prepared to delay Brexit until the end of next year rather than leave without a deal on October 31.[12]
- Sajid Javid, Home Secretary:
- Mr Javid told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “I’m clear that my plan would be to leave on October 31. I want to leave with a deal but if I have to choose between no deal and no Brexit I would pick no deal.”[13]
[1] The Guardian, (07.05.2019), Hopes of imminent Brexit deal fade after ‘tense’ cross-party talks, [accessed 13.06.2019]
[2] The Guardian, (13.06.2019), Brexit: ‘No deal’ Tory leadership hopefuls boosted by MPs’ vote, [accessed 13.06.2019]
[3] The Guardian, (11.04.2019), IMF says Brexit delay means businesses face more uncertainty, [accessed 13.06.2019]
[4] Mayor of London, (25.10.2018), Lack of Govt information has made it impossible to plan for Brexit, [accessed 13.06.2019]
[5] The Independent, (12.06.2019), Brexit: Leaked cabinet note admits UK not ready for no-deal exit on October 31, blowing hole in Boris Johnson leadership pledge, [accessed 13.06.2019]
[6] BBC News, (13.06.2019), Tory leadership contest: Boris Johnson tops first ballot, [accessed 13.06.2019]
[7] Business Insider, (14.02.2018), All the times Boris Johnson has contradicted his own arguments for Brexit, [accessed 13.06.2019]
[8] The Telegraph, (11.06.2019), Jean-Claude Juncker says EU will never renegotiate its Brexit deal no matter who becomes new PM, [date accessed 13.06.2019]
[9] Business Insider, (14.02.2018), All the times Boris Johnson has contradicted his own arguments for Brexit, [accessed 13.06.2019]
[10] Business Insider, (14.02.2018), All the times Boris Johnson has contradicted his own arguments for Brexit, [accessed 13.06.2019]
[11] The Guardia, (09.06.2019), Jeremy Hunt claims Merkel is willing to renegotiate Brexit deal, [accessed 13.06.2019}
[12] Evening Standard, (02.06.2019), Tory leadership race: Michael Gove ‘prepared to delay Brexit’ until late 2020… as Sajid Javid refuses to rule out extension, [accessed 13.06.2019]
[13] Evening Standard, (02.06.2019), Tory leadership race: Michael Gove ‘prepared to delay Brexit’ until late 2020… as Sajid Javid refuses to rule out extension, [accessed 13.06.2019]
