LONDON: Michael Gove has said any deal with the EU over the terms of the UK’s withdrawal could be changed via a general election.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Gove said: “The British people will be in control. If the British people dislike the agreement that we have negotiated with the EU, the agreement will allow a future government to diverge.” The Environment Secretary and leading Brexiteer reiterated the UK’s position on the negotiations that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” at the end of the process. “By the time of the next election, EU law and any new treaty with the EU will cease to have primacy or direct effect in UK law,” said Mr Gove, which means the UK could change or reject its agreements with Brussels. After a transition period, the UK would have “full freedom to diverge from EU law on the single market and customs union.” On Friday the Prime Minister flew to Brussels, to announce the EU and the UK had reached an agreement on phase one of the negotiations and will now progress to talks on trade.

The broad outline of any future deal, or transitional phase is expected to need agreement by October of next year.

The UK will pay a “divorce settlement” of between £35 and £39 billion, although EU figures have suggested no firm figure has been agreed. The wording of the agreement says there will be “full alignment” in regulations between Northern Ireland and the Republic in certain sectors to allow for an open border to be maintained.

It will also involve the European Court of Justice overseeing the rights of EU nationals living in the UK for the next eight years. The Cabinet will meet on December 19th and discuss, for the first time, what future trading relationship the UK should seek with the EU.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said certain Brexiteers would not be happy with the arrangements.

He told the BBC: “I think that within the next 48 hours you will hear a lot more Conservative voices... saying, actually, they are not happy with what’s happened today.” Some Conservatives have already expressed concern over the role of the European Court of Justice’s continuing jurisdiction over the UK for such a lengthy period.

Justice Minister Dominic Raab also said the details on how to deal with the issue of the Irish border had still to be worked out in full.

He told BBC 2’s Newsnight: “You can call it strategic ambiguity, you can call it constructive ambiguity... what I am admitting to you, very openly, and honestly, is that we have agreed principles, but that the details still need to be ironed out on this very bespoke set of issues around Northern Ireland which can’t be dealt with properly and responsibly outside of the context of the broader negotiation on customs and trade and all of those other things we have said all along.”

The Independent