Nigel Dodds: 'The European Union is acting like an adversary in the Brexit talks - and Theresa May must be prepared to walk away' - Chopper's Brexit Podcast Episode 29

The European Union is acting like an “adversary” in the Brexit talks and Theresa May, the Prime Minister, has to be prepared to walk away, Nigel Dodds says today.

Mr Dodds, the Westminster leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, which is supporting the minority Tory government, said Mrs May should be prepared to spend more on planning for a no deal exit.

He told Chopper’s Brexit Podcast: “We are very keen to see bigger and better preparations to be made for Brexit by the Chancellor - so the £3billion he set aside is a lot better than what he has talked about previously.

"It must send a message to the European Union that we are serious about all scenarios that may emerge as a result of the talks.

"We have negotiated in Northern Ireland for 20, 30 years and the last thing you want to signal to your political adversary, and the EU are acting like an adversary in many cases in the talks process, you have got to show that you are prepared if necessary to walk away, that no deal is better than a bad deal."

Mr Dodds, who will attend the DUP's annual conference in Belfast this weekend, said Mr Hammond’s decision to walk away from the Government’s austerity policies in the Budget was because of the influence of the DUP.

He said: “We have already had evidence of our influence – the headlines today of austerity coming to an end – we made it clear at the start that we could not support an ongoing austerity programme that was focused entirely on reducing debt.

“We believe debt does need managed, it does need to be brought down. The Chancellor said he had to do that but in tandem there had to be a balanced approach, helping hardworking families, those in need. 

“That is why we supported the lifting of the pay cap for instance – we are very happy to see that in relation to nurses and others in the health service getting money guaranteed for pay rises.”

Also on the programme, Jonathan Reynolds, Labour’s shadow Economic secretary to the Treasury, claimed Tory eurosceptics were happy to leave the economy as a “smoldering wreck” after Brexit 

Mr Reynolds told Chopper’s Brexit Podcast: “If I look at those conservative backbenchers – the deal has to go through them – I look at some people and frankly I see on the margins people would be quite happy to see this country reduce to a smouldering wreck of an economy if they got what they believe is the right thing to happen in Europe.”

Nicky Morgan, chairman of the Treasury select committee, agreed that damaging the economy would “appear” to be a price worth paying for Tory rightwingers who want to take Britain out of the EU.

She said: “There are undoubtedly some people inside and outside the House who seem to think the economy comes second.”

On being called a ‘mutineer’, she added: “It has backfired. It has given us an identity. 

We have had masses of public support. I have had people coming up in the street saying ‘keep going, well done’.

“Actually it has made us more determined and attracted more people to our cause.”

Revisit the previous series of Chopper's Brexit Podcast here

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