Advertisement

Theresa May faces prospect of fresh Brexit rebellion in the Commons

Theresa May is facing the prospect of another Commons Brexit battle, just hours after a marathon gathering of senior ministers aimed at agreeing a united front on leaving the European Union.

The eight-hour session of the Brexit "war Cabinet" at the Prime Minister's country retreat of Chequers was called to thrash out of a common position for the next phase of negotiations with Brussels.

Speaking on Friday, Environment Secretary Michael Gove described the meeting as "very good", adding: "We agreed on the way forward."

The comment was echoed by Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who said: "We all got behind the Prime Minister and we've agreed the basis for her speech for next week and I'm looking forward to it going ahead."

Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt - who was not at Chequers - said he had been told it was "positive and constructive".

He added that the PM's top team agreed there will be areas of the economy - such as the automotive sector - where Britain will align itself with European regulations and others where it will diverge.

"But that must always be on a voluntary basis," he told Sky News.

"It won't be the situation that the EU changes their rules and we have to follow suit, it will be on the basis of agreement between two sovereign powers, the UK and the EU, and then we'll have an independent arbitration system where there's any disagreement."

But amid professions of Cabinet unity, another parliamentary clash on Europe - and a test of the PM's authority - is on the horizon.

A number of pro-EU Conservative and Labour backbenchers have tabled an amendment to the Government's trade bill, which would require the UK to form a customs union after Brexit.

Leading rebel and Tory MP Anna Soubry said she had support across the House for the amendment and called on Labour to back it "in the national interest".

The party's shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has said Labour now backs a post-exit customs union that would look "pretty much like" the current one, meaning the Government could very well be defeated if the amendment is put to a vote.

The move will provoke the ire of Brexiteers, who argue maintaining a customs union with the EU would restrict Britain's room for manoeuvre when negotiating free trade deals and is akin to not leaving the EU at all.

Brexit-supporting Conservative MP Michael Fabricant described the amendment as a "total betrayal" of Leave voters.

"It will stop us controlling our own borders and prevent us from having an independent trade policy," he wrote on Twitter.

"It will result in #Brexit in name, but not in reality."

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Hunt rejected the customs union calls and said it was possible to have "frictionless" trade with the continent without one.

Mrs May will set out her confirmed strategy for the next phase of Brexit negotiations in a speech next Friday, following on from a meeting of her full Cabinet.

Before the Cabinet talks had even begun, Mrs May saw the European Commission appear to reject her "three baskets" approach to future UK-EU regulatory cooperation.

The PM had previously suggested Britain could harmonise with existing EU regulations in some industries such as aviation and cars, align with EU rules but with different methods in areas such as finance, and diverge significantly in some sectors such as fishing.

But, in internal presentations, the European Commission argued the UK approach towards regulatory oversight in the future EU-UK relationship is "not compatible" with current guidelines set by remaining member states.