Ahead of the summer recess, there was concern among Tory high command that the long holiday could result in seven weeks of leadership plotting. But worried Mayites can rest easy as instead what’s transpired instead is an endless free-for-all over the government’s Brexit position. Every day hacks now take a comment from a minister on one aspect of Brexit and then try and work out whether or not the whole Cabinet agrees with them.
Today it was the Prime Minister’s spokesman who stepped up to the plate. After some confusion last week over the government position on immigration (after Brandon Lewis said freedom of movement would end by 2019 but his Home Office boss Amber Rudd said the flow of EU workers would continue for an ‘implementation period’), No 10 attempted to set the record straight. In a bid to offer clarity, this morning the Prime Minister’s spokesman confirmed that free movement of EU citizens to Britain will end in March 2019:
‘It would be wrong to suggest it… will continue as it is now.’
This clarification – if you can call it that – has been jumped on as a confirmation that freedom of movement will end in March 2019.
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