Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

Britain's new chief Brexit negotiator has warned EU member states not to "underestimate" Boris Johnson in his first contact with his counterparts.

David Frost, the prime minister's new Europe advisor, said EU governments should "be in no doubt" about the new administration's commitment to leaving the EU on 31 October.

"I will save the substantive issues for another day, other than to note prime minister Johnson's statement in parliament [last week], which sets out our approach, and to underline that you should be in no doubt about this government's commitment to the 31 October date," he said in an email to member state diplomats leaked to the Financial Times.

"I would also add that many people are inclined to underestimate Boris Johnson and I would urge you not to do so."

Mr Frost, who replaces Theresa May's Brexit chief Olly Robbins, also hailed his predecessor, who he said "deserved better" than the personal criticism he had received in the press.

"I would like to conclude with a tribute to Olly. It is obvious that this new government does not take the same view as its predecessor on Brexit policy, bu that should not detract from the fact that he has worked tirelessly over the last three years to implement the mandate he was given and has come in for quite a lot of personal criticism as result," he wrote in the email, sent last week.

"He has deserved better, and I know that prime minister Johnson appreciates his service and wishes him well for what comes next."

Mr Robbins came to be disliked by some Brexiteers, who considered the civil servant to be working to frustrate Brexit. Criticism came to a head after he was overheard in a hotel bar in Brussels outlining parts of the government's strategy to get its withdrawal agreement through the House of Commons.

Mr Frost previously worked in Brussels at the UK's Permanent Representation to the EU, and was most recently chief executive of the London chambers of commerce.

Speaking in the Commons last week the new prime minister Mr Johnson said he would not conduct any further Brexit talks with the European Union unless it agreed to drop the controversial Irish border backstop from the withdrawal agreement. The EU has responded by saying it would stand by the policy.

The prime minister insisted there was "amble scope" for the UK and EU to agree a new Brexit deal, but that the government was preparing for a no-deal outcome "very actively and with great confidence".
He said he had had "interesting conversations" with European leaders but admitted there was "no change in their position".

He said:

"They all know where we are, we can't accept the backstop, it was thrown out three times, it won't work, the Withdrawal Agreement as it stands is dead. I think everybody gets that.

"But there is ample scope to do a new deal, to do a new deal and a better deal.

"But at the same time it is right, as the government has said for the last three years, to prepare for no deal and we're also going to be doing that very actively and with great confidence."

Boris Johnson is refusing to sit down for talks with EU leaders until they agree to ditch the Irish backstop, despite invitations to meetings from the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

His official spokeswoman said the prime minister had made clear that he wanted to strike a deal, but there was no point in holding face-to-face talks unless the EU agreed to reopen the withdrawal agreement.

But on a visit to the Trident nuclear base at Faslane in Scotland on Monday, Johnson painted a more optimistic picture of the prospect for talks, insisting to reporters that there was “ample scope” to achieve a new deal.

He said: “We are not aiming for a no-deal Brexit at all. What we want is to get a deal and I’ve had some interesting conversations with our European partners. I’ve talked to Jean-Claude [Juncker] and Angela Merkel and we’re reaching out today to Leo Varadkar. The feeling is, yes there’s no change in their position, but it’s very, very positive.”

But he added: “They all know where we are: we can’t accept the backstop, it was thrown out three times, the withdrawal agreement as it stands is dead and everybody gets that. But there is ample scope to do a new deal and a better deal.”

While Johnson has spoken to Merkel and Macron, there are no plans to accept their invitations to visit without a change in their position on the backstop. Meanwhile Irish officials are understood to view the delay in contacting Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, as indicative of an unwillingness to enter serious talks. Varadkar is adamant that the backstop must stay to prevent a return to a hard border on the island of Ireland and preserve the integrity of the single market.

The spokeswoman said: “The PM has been clear that he wants to meet EU leaders and negotiate, but not to sit down and be told that the EU cannot possibly reopen the withdrawal agreement. And that is the message that he has been giving to leaders when he has spoken to them on the telephone so far.”

“The EU has said up to now it is not willing to renegotiate [the backstop] ... The prime minister would be happy to sit down with leaders when that position changes. But he is making it clear to everybody he speaks to that that needs to happen.”

Asked about his plans to kick-start negotiations with the EU over the summer, after the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, appeared to suggest on Monday morning that he would not reopen talks until the EU agreed to ditch the backstop, Johnson said: “I believe in reaching out. I’ve already been talking to colleagues around the table in Brussels, I have absolutely no inhibitions about that. We are going to engage and obviously ask for very profound changes to the current basis for leaving the EU.”

He said that, while the formal position of the EU that there can be no further negotiations on the withdrawal agreement remained unchanged, “I think they understand that the UK and the EU are two great political entities and it is possible for us to come up with a new deal that will be to the benefit of both sides.”

Despite the positivity of Johnson’s outlook in Faslane, where he met naval personnel working inside the nuclear submarine HMS Victorious, his underlying position on talks makes clear that No 10 is now proceeding towards a no-deal Brexit unless EU leaders change their minds about not reopening the withdrawal agreement. It is counter to expectations among some of Johnson’s supporters that he would embark on a whistlestop diplomatic tour of European capitals to propose an alternative to the backstop, instead leaving the ball in the court of EU leaders to make a move.

The No 10 spokeswoman added: “I think he has been clear that the backstop has to be abolished. He remains confident that the EU will stop claiming that the withdrawal agreement cannot be changed. But until that happens we must assume that there will be a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.”

Earlier, Raab refused to say whether Johnson was planning to see EU leaders any time soon, saying there would be meetings “in due course”.

While Johnson refuses to negotiate on the EU’s current terms, he is ramping up planning for a no-deal Brexit with a series of new cabinet committees to prepare for leaving on 31 October.

The government is also planning an advertising campaign spending up to £100m on warning the public and businesses that they need to get ready. Johnson’s spokeswoman could not say what the exact messages would be or whether the public would be advised to stockpile ahead of that date.

It will not involve leafleting every household, but broadcast and billboard advertisements are likely.

On his visit to Scotland, Johnson also heaped praise on the Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, who on Sunday issued a defiant challenge to the prime minister, pledging that she will refuse to back a no-deal Brexit.

Claiming that he was “with Ruth in wanting to avoid a no-deal Brexit”, he said: “Ruth has been a fantastic leader of the Scottish Conservatives. I am lost in admiration for what she has achieved. I’m a massive fan of the way she has taken the argument to those who would destroy our union.”

Davidson has made no secret of her reservations about the new prime minister, and Johnson infuriated her last week by sacking her ally, David Mundell, as Scottish secretary, against her advice.

The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said she intended to set out for him the “considerable damage” that any Brexit, and especially a no-deal Brexit, would do to Scotland’s economy.

Speaking in advance of her first face-to-face meeting with Johnson since he became prime minister, she said: “Boris Johnson has formed a hard-line Tory government with one aim – to take Scotland and the UK out of the EU without a deal”.

Boris Johnson is set to spend £100 million on advertising a Brexit no-deal, government sources have said.

The new prime minister has already formed his so-called Brexit ‘war cabinet’ and this advertising campaign would be the biggest since the Second World War, the Telegraph reports.

No-deal preparations have been ramped up since Mr Johnson won the Tory leadership election by promising to leave the European Union, with or without a deal, by October 31.

This marketing blitz comes as Mr Johnson makes his first official visit north of the border, where he will announce a £300 million funding pot for communities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It’s still not clear where this money will come from or how Mr Johnson would get a no-deal through Parliament as MPs have voted against it before.

He could suspend Parliament to get a no-deal through but MPs and Lords voted against this controversial measure, which is known as proroguing.

Ministers said no deal preparations are being prioritised to force Brussels to reopen negotiations and reconsider removing the Northern Irish backstop from the withdrawal agreement.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak told Sky News: ‘We are turbo charging preparations for no deal and that is now the Government’s number one priority.’

He added: ‘We want to remove this undemocratic backstop from the existing agreement but if the EU is not willing to talk about that, then it’s right that we prepare properly with conviction.’

Newly appointed trade minister Conor Burns welcomed the Brexit ad campaign but criticised the previous government’s failure to adequately fund for no-deal.

He told BBC Radio 4 Westminster Hour: ‘It is really important that businesses that are not yet geared up, get geared up because this is hoving into reality.

‘It is a very serious possibility and I just wish the previous government which was not led by Boris had got on with this a lot earlier.’

Mr Burns added: ‘Showing that we are aggressively preparing, showing that the Treasury Hammond gloom is behind us and the Treasury are financing the preparations for no-deal is the best way for us to approach our European partners and say, “look we want a deal and let’s get back round the table and let’s sort this out”.

Boris Johnson's new Brexit chief wants to scrap Theresa May’s commitments on EU workers’ rights, and has suggested that Brexit is an opportunity to escape the EU’s “heavy labour market regulation”, The Independent can reveal.

Just two months ago David Frost said he was opposed to the approach advocated “by the leaders of both major political parties” and argued that EU new rights should not automatically be written into law after Brexit.

Mr Frost, former chief executive of the London chambers of commerce, was appointed last week by Mr Johnson to replace Olly Robbins as Downing Street’s EU chief, a role that will see him leading any future talks with Brussels.

“Business organisations have often in the past criticised the EU’s drift towards heavy labour market regulation,” Mr Frost said in May 2019 in an article reproduced on the London chambers of commerce website.

“So I will take some persuading it will be a good outcome if the EU is able to set new UK labour market rules without any UK say – as currently seems to be envisaged by the leaders of both major political parties.”

Theresa May committed the government to maintaining the current level of EU workers rights, and also went even further, legislating for parliament to automatically be given votes on staying aligned with EU rules when future legislation emerges.

Additionally, during the transition period included in the withdrawal agreement, the UK would have to accept rights with no say at all, as rejected by Mr Frost.

Brussels has also suggested the UK would have to stay aligned with future EU workers’ rights, as well as environmental and social legislation, past the end of the transition period – if it wants a trade agreement. Chief negotiator Mr Barnier has said the bloc would seek non-regression clauses to ensure the UK does not backslide on rules and try to undercut its neighbours.

Commenting on the official’s views, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Boris Johnson claims that he intends to enhance rights at work after Brexit. He and his advisers should be focused on delivering that promise.

“But instead they’re threatening a catastrophic no deal, which would strip away existing legal protections and leave essential rights open to attack. Working people must not be dragged off this cliff edge without getting a final say.”

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell Welsh farmers on Tuesday they will get a better deal after Brexit, part of a countrywide tour to win support for his “do or die” pledge to leave the European Union by Oct. 31.

Just days after taking office as prime minister, Johnson kicked off the domestic tour, underlining his desire to win Britain over rather than courting EU leaders to try to persuade them to change their minds on a divorce deal he says is dead.

His reluctance to engage with EU leaders until they signal a willingness to renegotiate the agreement Britain’s parliament rejected three times has increased the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, sending the pound to its lowest level since early 2017.

He hopes that the threat of Britain leaving without a deal, which would send shocks waves through the world economy, will persuade the EU’s biggest powers - Germany and France - to agree to revise the Withdrawal Agreement.

“I will always back Britain’s great farmers and as we leave the EU we need to make sure that Brexit works for them,” Johnson said before arriving in Wales.

Taoiseach tells new PM in first chat that EU will not scrap it as part of reopening Brexit talks

Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar have clashed over the Irish backstop in their first phone call, with the Irish taoiseach saying the EU is united in the view that it cannot be scrapped and the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened.

Johnson finally spoke to Varadkar almost a week after becoming prime minister, telling him the UK would never put physical checks or infrastructure at the border with Northern Ireland after Brexit but demanding the backstop be scrapped.

The British prime minister had been accused of snubbing Varadkar by leaving it so long to speak to him, even though the Irish leader will be central to whether he can agree a new withdrawal deal with the EU.

A spokesman for Varadkar said: “The taoiseach emphasised to the prime minister that the backstop was necessary as a consequence of decisions taken in the UK and by the UK government.

“Noting that the Brexit negotiations take place between the UK and the EU, the taoiseach explained that the EU was united in its view that the withdrawal agreement could not be reopened.

“Alternative arrangements could replace the backstop in the future, as envisaged in the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration on the future relationship, but thus far satisfactory options have yet to be identified and demonstrated.”

An Irish government spokesman added: “The taoiseach restated the need for both governments to be fully committed to the Good Friday agreement, the protection of the peace process and the restoration of the Northern Ireland institutions.

“He recalled that the agreement requires the sovereign government to exercise power with rigorous impartiality on behalf of all the people in full respect for their rights, equality, parity of esteem and just and equal treatment for the identity, ethos and aspirations of both communities.”

A No 10 spokesman said both leaders committed to a warm and deep relationship between Ireland and the UK.

But Johnson made clear his view the UK would be leaving the EU on 31 October regardless of whether a deal has been struck and that any new agreement must be “one that abolishes the backstop”.

Varadkar has ruled out a deal without the backstop, which Eurosceptic Tory MPs refused to vote for because they argued it could indefinitely trap the UK in a customs union after the end of the transitional period.

The Republic of Ireland regards the backstop as integral to preventing a return to a hard border with Northern Ireland if new customs arrangements have not been put in place by the time the UK leaves.

The No 10 spokesman said: “On Brexit, the prime minister made clear that the UK will be leaving the EU on October 31, no matter what.

“He said that in all scenarios, the government will be steadfast in its commitment to the Belfast agreement and will never put physical checks or physical infrastructure on the border.”

Johnson has not yet put forward a clear proposal for replacing the backstop but some senior Tory MPs believe the solution lies in “alternative arrangements”, whereby hi-tech customs checks could be conducted away from the border.

Any future US-UK trade deal would almost certainly be blocked by the US Congress if Brexit affects the Irish border and jeopardises peace in Northern Ireland, congressional leaders and diplomats have warned.

Boris Johnson has presented a trade deal with the US as a way of offsetting the economic costs of leaving the EU, and Donald Trump promised the two countries could strike “a very substantial trade agreement” that would increase trade “four or five times”.

Trump, however, would not be able to push an agreement through a hostile Congress, where there would be strong bipartisan opposition to any UK trade deal in the event of a threat to the 1998 Good Friday agreement, and to the open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
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The UK’s Brexit negotiator is heading to Brussels for meetings with EU officials, despite a claim by Boris Johnson that the UK would stay away until the bloc scraps the controversial backstop.

The prime minister said last week that he and his team would only sit down with the EU if it agreed to reopen the withdrawal agreement and ditch the Irish border policy, which Brussels has repeatedly said it will not do.

But despite Mr Johnson’s tough public message, his new Brexit chief, David Frost, headed to Brussels on Wednesday for two days of meetings with EU officials in Michel Barnier’s team.

Officials on the UK side downplayed the meetings as merely “introductory” and said they would not be negotiations, but merely a two-day opportunity for the UK to lay out Mr Johnson’s position across three separate meetings.

“In his role as the Prime Minister’s Europe adviser, David Frost is visiting Brussels to have introductory meetings with key officials and to pass on the Prime Minister’s message in person,” a UK government spokesperson said.

Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s prime minister, is being demonised by the Brexit-supporting section of the British press. His determination to stick by the backstop provision in the EU withdrawal agreement has particularly outraged the Daily Telegraph and the Sun.

Both papers, with tacit support from the Daily Express, are engaged in a tactic familiar to those who, down the years, witnessed the treatment that has been handed out to homegrown politicians such as Tony Benn, Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock and, of course, Jeremy Corbyn.

Varadkar is being groomed as the Brexit bogeyman, not least because, with the changing of the guard in Brussels, he is currently the most identifiable individual defending the European Union’s position.

In order to ram home their propaganda, the papers have blamed him for the likelihood of Britain crashing out of the EU. A Sun editorial claimed that Varadkar would be responsible for “the potential chaos of a no-deal Brexit”.

It even dared to refer to him witheringly as “Ireland’s rookie PM”, which is a bit rich given that Varadkar has been in office for more than two years while the Sun’s great hero, Boris Johnson, has been in No 10 for barely a week.

For historical humbug, however, it is difficult to better the accusation by the Sunday Telegraph’s columnist, Simon Heffer, that Varadkar is guilty of being “wrong to disregard the ancient ties between Britain and Ireland”. Does he not understand that it is the continuation of those ties, through Britain’s retention of six Irish counties, that is the very reason for the problem?

Heffer’s bizarre belief is that Varadkar and his deputy, Simon Coveney, want “to be weaponised by Brussels in the EU’s determination to force a no-deal Brexit”. Given that such a scenario would be crippling to Ireland’s economy, that is a ludicrous claim.

The following day, the Telegraph’s commentator, Nick Timothy (and former chief of staff to ex-prime minister Theresa May), also turned reality on its head by accusing Varadkar of being “the real threat to peace”. He contended that the taoiseach’s “hardline stance on the backstop risks bringing back a hard border and destabilising the Good Friday agreement”. Not content with that, he then argued that Varadkar “doesn’t understand the Good Friday agreement”.

So, Varadkar is being scapegoated as the villain of the piece, but also the villain of the peace. Then again, the Telegraph’s criticism of Varadkar goes back at least a year. In July 2018, one of its commentators, Tom Harris, called Varadkar “ill-informed and arrogant” and “not up to the task when it comes to Brexit”.

Another of its commentators, Ruth Dudley Edwards, wrote in January of Varadkar being “naive” and of suddenly realising, supposedly, that Ireland was being “used to punish Britain”. No proof, of course, just a wrong-headed opinion based on an intense dislike for the Irish government’s reliance on the backstop as the best way to avoid a hard border.

Another theme of the anti-Varadkar coverage is the suggestion that his stance does not command the support of the Irish people. The Express approvingly cited a poll carried in an Irish newspaper, the Sunday Independent, which found that only 43%of the Irish population were satisfied with their prime minister’s handling of the Brexit process.

But this did not take account of the fact that Varadkar’s overall poll ratings have been in decline for some time, and that this is not related to Brexit. It should not be taken to indicate a lack of popular support for his line on the backstop. Just the reverse. It is possible to argue that Varadkar’s poll numbers would be lower still without his steadfast backing for the withdrawal agreement. Indeed, British media antagonism may well improve Varadkar’s status.

According to a Sun leading article, from the moment Johnson became prime minister there was “panic” in Dublin, with Varadkar “ramping up his rhetoric now we [Britain] have a PM who means business”.

Several papers sought to represent Tuesday’s phone conversation between Johnson and Varadkar as a “clash”, although all the evidence from both sides suggests both men, without rancour, simply restated their opposing views on the backstop. Over a photo of Johnson clutching a chicken during his visit to a Welsh poultry farm, the Sun carried the headline: “For cluck’s sake, Leo, give us an eggsit.”

Seen in the context of the paper’s previous attacks on Varadkar, the thinly veiled message of the childish pun was that it is not only open season on Ireland’s prime minister but, perhaps, on Ireland itself.

Needless to say, the Irish edition of the Sun was altogether more sympathetic towards the taoiseach, featuring a picture of Varadkar with a bubble caption aimed at Johnson and containing a very different pun: “Stop choking the chicken and let’s do a deal already.”