Key Hard-Liner Softening Opposition to May's Deal: Brexit Update
(Bloomberg) -- Leading Brexit purist Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has opposed Theresa May’s exit deal, appears to be softening his stance, making it more likely that the divorce agreement could win Parliamentary approval next month.
Key Developments:
WTO Says U.K. Can Bid For Contracts After Brexit (10:37 a.m.)
The U.K. has secured a key request of business for post-Brexit: Continued access to a World Trade Organization agreement that governs 1.3 billion pounds ($1.7 trillion) worth of public sector work a year.
"British business can continue to bid freely for procurement contracts around the world," Trade Secretary Liam Fox said on Twitter on Wednesday. "The agreement is another huge step in the U.K. establishing itself as an independent WTO member, continuing to bang the drum for free trade and U.K. Business."
Parliament ‘Inching’ Towards Deal: Crabb (9:40 a.m.)
Hardline Tory Brexiters are coming round to the idea of backing May’s deal and Parliament is now “inching” toward getting a deal through parliament,” former Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb told Bloomberg TV.
“I think people are starting to come round to the idea that even though they don’t like the deal that’s been negotiated -- the draft deal on the table -- it is actually the only show in town,” he said.
No-Deal Could Be ‘Very Turbulent,’ Fox Says (9:30 a.m.)
Leaving the European Union without a deal would be “potentially very turbulent,” U.K. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said Wednesday. While “obviously survivable,” such an outcome would cause disruption, Fox said at the International Petroleum Week conference in London, acknowledging there’s no “perfect” Brexit deal.
Germany Wants New U.K. Plans in Return for Delay (8:40 a.m.)
The German government wants May to put forward something “new and substantial” to justify an extension to Article 50, Michael Roth, Germany’s deputy foreign minister responsible for European affairs, said on Wednesday morning.
“What we need now is clarity,” he told German TV station ZDF. “Just delaying the process doesn’t tackle the fundamental question: what do you want to happen?”
He also called for an end to the “tactical maneuvering” of politicians. “It’s getting on my nerves and the nerves of many other people,” he said.
Rees-Mogg Says Won’t Insist Backstop Be Dropped (7 a.m.)
Pro-Brexit lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg is no longer insisting that the “Irish backstop” be dropped as a condition for supporting Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, he told the Financial Times in an interview.
In a sign that he’s softening opposition to the plan, Rees-Mogg -- the leader of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Conservative Party lawmakers -- said he would consider other legal fixes to ensure the so-called backstop didn’t become permanent, the paper reported. That could be in the form of an appendix to the text, he said. Crucially, that is exactly what May is now seeking in negotiations in Brussels.
“I think you can add an appendix without reopening the text,” Rees-Mogg said, according to the FT. “You’d be adding something on at the end, but it’s still part of the text.”
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