Brexit: the UK should not be trapped in the customs union – Leadsom

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Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom said: "The potential for improving the draft agreement on Brexit remains".

While supporting the efforts of Prime Minister Theresa May to get the "best possible deal," she warned that the UK could not be "trapped" in an EU customs union.

The BBC understands that Ms Brexiteer, Ms Leadsom, is part of a group of five ministers wishing to amend the agreement.

Despite the many criticisms of the draft withdrawal agreement, Ms. May promised to "make it through".

The 585-page document sets out the conditions for leaving the UK, including details such as the amount of money paid to the EU, the details of the transition period and the rights of citizens. It should be finalized at an EU summit next Sunday, 25 November.

The publication of the draft text prompted Ms. May to begin tumultuous days with the resignation of two senior ministers and several other junior ministers and assistants.

Some conservative Brexiteers dissatisfied with the deal also sent letters of censure to Ms. May. If 48 letters are sent, a vote will be triggered and she may face a challenge from her direction.

Mark Francois, one of 21 Conservative MPs who have publicly said he sent a letter, said May's plan would leave the UK half "away" from the EU and that everyone knew that she would never go through Parliament.

But the Conservative MP, Sir Alan Duncan, urged his colleagues to "stop and think", saying that a challenge to the party leadership would not bring the country to a better deal than that of Ms. May.

"All that can do is create chaos, dismantle the government, dismantle the party and leave the country in great distress."

According to party veteran Ken Clarke, if Ms. May's leadership was to be a vote of confidence, she would be "easily" winners, but Nadine Dorries had doubts, saying "when the pen will arrive on paper "Most MPs will vote against it by secret ballot.

Analysis

Susana Mendonça, BBC Political Correspondent

When they did not leave the market for Theresa May's Brexit deal, you might have thought it meant that the key members of her Brexite in her office were ready to hold the lead in a show of what 'we call being a' collective responsibility '.

But the fact that they still maneuver to change the details of the Prime Minister's agreement (while declaring their support for it) is another sign of the extraordinary political times in which we live.

This apparent group of five people in the government differs in priorities. Andrea Leadsom – who is supposed to lead them – does not want Britain to be trapped in an endless safety net, and wants technological solutions to get around it.

Secretary of the Environment, Michael Gove, is concerned about treating Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK. The group is at an "embryonic" stage but will they get their settings?

Andrea Leadsom thinks that "there is still a lot to do" and that they "have more time" in front of the EU Council at the end of the month. But that leaves a little more than a week – and the EU does not seem to be on the market for renegotiation yet.

On Friday night, it appeared that Mrs. Leadsom was hoping to work with the other four ministers to turn the draft withdrawal agreement into something "winnable and sustainable".

The four ministers expected to work with Ms. Leadsom are Michael Gove and Liam Fox – who have publicly expressed their support for the Prime Minister – as well as Penny Mordaunt and Chris Grayling.

Speaking to the BBC in her constituency, Ms. Leadsom said, "I am working very hard to help the Prime Minister get the Brexit deal for which 17.4 million people voted.

"I think that it is still possible to improve the clarification and some of its measures and that is what I hope to help."

One of his concerns was that "the UK can not be trapped in a permanent customs arrangement" with the EU, she said.

She added, "I would not describe myself as a tracer, I'm really trying to make sure we get the best possible deal on Brexit."

The "group of five" of the cabinet specifically wants to change the part concerning Irish support – which was one of the main points of blockage in the discussions with Brussels.

The UK and the EU want to avoid a difficult northern Irish border, so they decided to put in place a "safety plan" – or backup plan – in case they could not reach an agreement long-term commercial in this sense.

This support would mean that Northern Ireland would remain more aligned with certain EU rules on products such as food and food standards than the rest of the UK, which critics deem unacceptable.

The UK would not be able to leave the backstop without the consent of the EU.

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According to BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, the group of ministers wants a modification of the draft text to include the possibility of a new technology or a free trade agreement as solutions. alternatives to the problem of the Irish border.

The group's plans have been described as "work in progress" and an "ultimate attempt to find something to offer in the Commons".

The agreement is expected to be approved at a special summit of the EU on 25 November, before being voted by MEPs.

Before the vote, the EU announced its intention to stick to the existing text, according to BBC Europe's editor-in-chief, Katya Adler. If this proposal was rejected, the EU would be open to "changes", but a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said that "nothing fundamental" could change.

Our correspondent adds that if there was to be a general election or another referendum, the EU would probably be willing to put the starting process on ice to avoid a Brexit without agreement and in the hope that the UK could change and stay in the EU. .

The EU's chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, said the EU should not start "some sort of negotiation process" on parts of the text, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said insisted that the EU and the UK had agreed that the text should not continue.

Phantom Chancellor John McDonnell hinted that the Labor Party could renegotiate the deal before the UK leaves the EU in March next year.

"I think we can do it with good will, we can change the atmosphere of the negotiations into a place of mutual interest and mutual benefit," he told Sky News.

Whiskey for May

At the same time, the Prime Minister told the Daily Mail that the withdrawal agreement was not "the ideal agreement of everyone", but that his job was to make "decisions" difficult "and to" find a way out ".

She also warned her opponents that their alternative projects with Brexit would not solve the problem of Irish backs.

Commenting on the backlash of the deal, Ms. May acknowledged that it had been "a couple of rather heavy days".

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She revealed that her husband Philip, whom she describes as her "rock", had helped her cross it – at one point by pouring him a whiskey and baking beans on toast.

On Friday night, Ms. May called dozens of riding presidents to call for support for her contract and leadership – and this weekend she should be embarking on a "social media blitz" to try to sell her projects to uncommitted people usually political.

May's comments come after Stephen Barclay was chosen as Brexit's new secretary, replacing Dominic Raab, who resigned on Thursday.

• How could the hustle and bustle affect Brexit?
• A guide to where we are with Brexit

Spokesman No 10 said Barclay, who has become Brexit's third secretary since the post was created, would focus on national preparations for Brexit, rather than negotiations.

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In other developments:

• Amber Rudd was appointed new secretary of labor and pensions, replacing Esther McVey, who also resigned following the transaction
• Stephen Hammond succeeds Barclay as Minister of Health in mini-reshuffle
• And John Penrose will join the Northern Ireland office, replacing Shailesh Vara; while Kwasi Kwarteng will go to the Department for the exit of the EU in replacement of Suella Braverman
• David Davis, secretary of Brexit before Raab, asked Ms May to obtain a more flexible agreement with the EU, saying that the United States would be ready to negotiate a free trade agreement right after Brexit if she abandoned her plan.
• On Sunday, the European research group Brexit plans to publish a seven-page summary of the 585-page draft agreement
• The police chief in Northern Ireland warned that "anything that reaffirmed" the Irish border posed problems of maintaining order and that the threat of violence was not exaggerated.
• At the same time, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney warned British politicians to sign the agreement or risk leaving the European Union without one of them, saying that people were "too fast" to write off Ms. May.

The draft Brexit withdrawal agreement that Ms. May agreed on Wednesday with her cabinet was signed by British and European negotiators.