BREX MAKE IT WORK
Boris Johnson reveals his 11th-hour Brexit deal to break deadlock with EU – after warning UK is ready to walk away
BORIS Johnson has set out his grand plan to replace the controversial Irish backstop in a bid to reach an 11th hour Brexit deal with the EU.
The Prime Minister is now gearing himself up for 10 days of "intensive discussions" with the EU as he tries to finally get a Brexit deal over the line.
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Mr Johnson published his plans after making a barnstorming speech to Tory party conference.
He has proposed Northern Ireland follow all Brussels rules on goods as well as food and livestock.
In a key caveat, the people of the province must consent to this within nine months by June 2020, through either a vote in the Stormont assembly, or possibly a Northern Ireland-wide referendum.
As part of his plans Northern Ireland will get a "new deal" to boost its economy and infrastructure - and is likely to include billions of pounds in extra cash for the province.
The move is a major departure from the British government’s three year-long insistence on the same rules for all of the UK.
In exchange, Mr Johnson is asking for Britain to keep an independent UK-wide customs system so there is no limit on signing new trade deals.
But it will be enforced by electronic paper trails, and stand off checks and inspections that will not mean any new infrastructure anywhere near the Irish border.
BRUSSELS REACTION
In a boost for Mr Johnson, President of the EU Commission Jean Claude Juncker said he “welcomed” the PM’s hunger for new talks.
A spokesman said: "President Juncker acknowledged the positive advances, notably with regards to the full regulatory alignment for all goods and the control of goods entering the Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
"However, the president noted there are still some problematic points that will need further in the coming days, notably regards to the governance of the backstop.
"The delicate balance struck by the Good Friday Agreement must be preserved."
The EU chief added that “substantive” customs rules are also a “concern” and stressed that a hard border must be prevented.
Juncker said: “The EU wants a deal. We remain united and ready to work 24/7 to make this happen – as we have been for three years now.”
The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier later added to No10's hopes by telling Sky News, "there is progress but lots of work still needs to be done.”
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the new proposals did not fully meet agreed objectives but said he would study them further and consult with EU partners.
His spokesman said: "The Taoiseach (prime minister) said the proposals do not fully meet the agreed objectives of the backstop.
"However, he indicated that he would study them in further detail, and would consult with the EU institutions, including the Task Force and our EU partners."
Meanwhile Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was swift to condemn the plan, saying it was worse than the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated by Theresa May and would undermine the Good Friday Agreement.
He said the Prime Minister appeared to be intent on a no-deal break with the EU.
But Labour MP Stephen Kinnock said "if Dublin and Brussels are happy, then we’re happy".
He estimated around 30 Labour MPs could back a deal.
In the address at the Tory Party Conference today Mr Johnson:
- Laid down his plan to Brussels bosses to get a deal in 10 days but stressed that "the alternative is No Deal" at the end of the month
- Said it was only by delivering Brexit that he can finally get on with helping the "left behind and ignored" who voted to Leave in the first place
- Stressed that under no circumstances will there be any checks at or near the Northern Ireland border after we leave
- Revealed how his entire family was split on Brexit - with his mum and himself voting Leave but sister Rachel, brother Jo and Dad Stanley backing Remain
The PM had spelled out the terms of his deal in a letter to Mr Juncker, delivered to him in Brussels at 3pm this afternoon by his chief EU advisor David Frost.
In the letter, Mr Johnson described it as “the broad landing zone” for an agreement, as No10 sources made it clear he was prepared to shift position on its details.
He described the backstop as a "bridge to nowhere" and insisted his plan was completely different to any other proposal before it.
But Downing Street sources also made it clear that the PM would not be budged from his two key red lines – an independent UK customs regime and trade policy, and the principle of giving the Northern Irish people consent.
Mr Johnson also told Mr Juncker that the deal he is proposing will only succeed if “there is sufficient willingness to compromise and move beyond existing positions”.
He pleaded: “Our predecessors have tackled harder problems: we can surely solve this one”.
'BACKSTOP BINNED'
The PM also warned there is now “very little time” left, as a deal must be in place before the crunch October 17 summit of all EU leaders.
Failure to strike a deal would be “a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible”.
The PM hopes that "rapid negotiations" can now start towards a solution - which will include a comprehensive free trade agreement in future.
Downing Street sources also feared that Ireland would use a new law rushed through by rebel MPs to delay Brexit again if there is No Deal as an excuse to reject the grand compromise.
Senior Irish politicians showed initial interest in Boris’s customs plan over the summer, the sources said.
But their calculations changed when the “Surrender Act” went through last month.
Our predecessors have tackled harder problems: we can surely solve this one.
Boris Johnson to Jean Claude Juncker
Rumours of the plan had also already started to abound in Brussels, with some there also insisting on dismissing it out of hand.
One senior EU source said: “This cannot be his last plan. It is unworkable to dissociate customs from the regulatory regime.
"There's no point in even considering a time limit on something that is not workable".
But in a big boost for Mr Johnson, the DUP seemed happy to go along with the plan in a big shift in their own position.
Leader of the Party, Arlene Foster, said this afternoon it was a "very sensible and balanced deal".
And in a statement the party said the new plan was "entirely consistent" with the Good Friday Agreement and they "encouraged all concerned to approach these discussions in a positive mind set."
"This offer provides a basis for the EU to continue in a serious and sustained engagement with the UK Government without risk to the internal market of the United Kingdom," the party added.
It comes as the UK government revealed that Northern Ireland would get nearly more than half of a £300million "growth deals fund" to support growth, create jobs or invest in local projects.
Mid South West and Causeway Coast and Glens in Northern Ireland are to benefit from a £163 million share of a pot of cash revealed by the PM back in July.
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What is Boris' new plan for Northern Ireland and Brexit?
AIMS:
- Promise to find a solution that is compatible with the Good Friday Agreement
- Commitment to UK/Ireland collaboration - and ensuring people can continue to travel bewteen Ireland and the UK
- No border checks in Northern Ireland for goods and agrifood - creating new zone of travel
- A vote for Northern Ireland policitians to sign off the deal - and more votes every 4 years
- Northern Ireland stays part of the customs zone not the EU - so he UK can continue to do other trade deals
PLAN
- No checks at the border
- Electronic paperwork conducted elsewhere
- More help for Northern Ireland to boost the economy and support infrastructure
'LET'S GET IT DONE'
It comes just hours after Boris made his first conference speech to the party faithful - vowing to push for a compromise deal or leave without an agreement.
He threw down the gauntlet to Brussels to go for his new "compromise for both sides" - or face No Deal in just days.
And in a 35-minute rallying cry he insisted he would "get Brexit done" eight times - so then he could focus on delivering what really matters to ordinary Brits.
Getting his party ready for a gruelling election campaign, Boris laid out his optimistic plan to create a country for everyone.
There are "so many reasons to be confident about our country and its direction", he told the packed hall.
Let’s get Brexit done. Let’s bring our country together
Boris Johnson
"Let’s get this thing done – and then let’s get ready to make our case to the country," he vowed.
Boris took aim at "communist cosmonaut" Jeremy Corbyn and the "fratricidal anti-semitic Marxists" in the Labour party.
"Let us send [him] into orbit where he belongs!" he cried of the leftie boss.
Boris hammered home how he would deliver more cash for the NHS, schools and police in No10.
As PM he will plough billions into infrastructure and broadband - and stressed that tax cuts are to come too.
"Let’s get on with sensible, moderate, one nation but tax-cutting Tory government," the PM said.
On Brexit he slammed the Remain Alliance for refusing to hold an election to let voters decide the way forward, saying voters have "more say over I'm a Celebrity" than Parliament.
At least we would have the consolation of watching the Speaker being forced to eat a kangaroo testicle!
Boris Johnson
He joked: "If Parliament were a reality TV show then the whole lot of us, I'm afraid would have been voted out of the jungle by now.
"But at least we would have the consolation of watching the Speaker being forced to eat a kangaroo testicle!"
In his first conference address as PM he insisted "we can, we must and we will" be out of the EU on October 31 - although he admitted that things have "not been made easier by the Surrender Bill" which could force him to seek a third delay.
"Let’s get it done because delay is so pointless and expensive," he said.
MOST READ IN POLITICS
"After 45 years of really dramatic constitutional change we must have a new relationship with the EU.
"What Leavers want, what Remainers want, what the whole world wants – is to be calmly and sensibly done with the subject, and to move on.
"And that is why we are coming out of the EU on October 31, come what may...
";We are here to serve the democratic will of the British people."
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The Sun Says
WE are not optimistic the EU will buy into Boris’s new deal.
For the moment it is being respectful enough. But Ireland can’t wait to trash it.
And the so-called “Surrender Act” drafted and approved by Remainer MPs gives them every confidence that we will ultimately seek an extension and maybe even rerun the referendum.
If the EU gambles on that, and knocks Boris back, it is clear who’s to blame.
Boris Johnson gets standing ovation after Tory conference speech as he exits hand-in-hand with Carrie Symonds
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