Some allies of the prime minister are desperate for a majority of MPs to back Ken Clarke’s motion to keep the UK in the customs union, at the close of round two of the Letwin process of the Commons bossing the government, Monday night.
Yes you heard me right.
They want MPs to vote for a plan that would drive a coach and whole herd of horses through the Tory election manifesto and would cleave the Conservative Party in two.
To be clear, these are not ministers and officials who themselves are keen for the UK to agree a deal with the EU that would remove the requirement for customs checks to be reintroduced after Brexit.
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Martin Narey
How I was punished for breaking the conspiracy of silence on grooming gangs
Au contraire.
But they hope if it becomes the revealed will of the Commons to negotiate that kind of so-called soft Brexit – one which would keep the UK under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, and would prohibit the negotiation of trade deals with non-EU countries – that would be the perfect platform for the prime minister to put her own Brexit deal back to the Commons for a record-breaking fourth time – on Tuesday.
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