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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/14/david-miliband-theresa-may-brexit-tory-european-economic-area
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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| David Miliband is back – and mapping the only sane path towards Brexit | David Miliband is back – and mapping the only sane path towards Brexit |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| When David Miliband fled to New York to run the International Rescue Committee, he cannot have imagined his old country would be most in need of his services. Britain now needs all the help it can get, even from superannuated expatriate politicians. By the autumn the government will have had to choose between the devil of a messy but feasible hotchpotch of soft Brexit and the deep blue sea of no deal. We can dance on the head of a pin for so long, but this year there has to be a choice. | When David Miliband fled to New York to run the International Rescue Committee, he cannot have imagined his old country would be most in need of his services. Britain now needs all the help it can get, even from superannuated expatriate politicians. By the autumn the government will have had to choose between the devil of a messy but feasible hotchpotch of soft Brexit and the deep blue sea of no deal. We can dance on the head of a pin for so long, but this year there has to be a choice. |
| Suddenly, soft Brexit can happen. Thank the Lords | Martin Kettle | Suddenly, soft Brexit can happen. Thank the Lords | Martin Kettle |
| Today, at an Open Reason event in Essex, a tri-party trio of Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nicky Morgan are seeking to advance the cause of a version of the customs union/single market called the European Economic Area (EEA), as enjoyed by Norway. This would not reverse the referendum, an outcome futilely sought by remain fundamentalists. It would honour Brexit, while also honouring Theresa May’s claimed commitment to “frictionless” trade. Each of the “issues” – control on aspects of migration, no border in Ulster, ad hoc deals with third parties – can be accommodated, up to a point, within the terms of an EEA negotiation. | Today, at an Open Reason event in Essex, a tri-party trio of Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nicky Morgan are seeking to advance the cause of a version of the customs union/single market called the European Economic Area (EEA), as enjoyed by Norway. This would not reverse the referendum, an outcome futilely sought by remain fundamentalists. It would honour Brexit, while also honouring Theresa May’s claimed commitment to “frictionless” trade. Each of the “issues” – control on aspects of migration, no border in Ulster, ad hoc deals with third parties – can be accommodated, up to a point, within the terms of an EEA negotiation. |
| May should now slam her fist on the cabinet table and say yes to Miliband, Clegg and Morgan. She should say yes to the 14 Lords amendments to the Brexit bill now returning to the Commons. She should say yes to a clear majority of her cabinet and all MPs. She should say yes to public opinion. The EEA is the one sensible and consensual compromise through this mess. | May should now slam her fist on the cabinet table and say yes to Miliband, Clegg and Morgan. She should say yes to the 14 Lords amendments to the Brexit bill now returning to the Commons. She should say yes to a clear majority of her cabinet and all MPs. She should say yes to public opinion. The EEA is the one sensible and consensual compromise through this mess. |
| Against it stands the apparently insuperable obstacle of the prime minister’s lack of guts. She is in awe of a group of diehards in her cabinet and on her backbenches. | Against it stands the apparently insuperable obstacle of the prime minister’s lack of guts. She is in awe of a group of diehards in her cabinet and on her backbenches. |
| May undoubtedly faces the greatest crisis of Tory leadership in a generation, and there is no question this involves personal risk. She must rescind some of her more reckless hard-Brexit pledges. She will face the resignation of ministers and a probable leadership challenge. But it is doubtful if such a rebellion will terminally undermine her position. Leaders have faced such crises before – as did John Major when he called the bluff of a similar rebellion in 1995. | May undoubtedly faces the greatest crisis of Tory leadership in a generation, and there is no question this involves personal risk. She must rescind some of her more reckless hard-Brexit pledges. She will face the resignation of ministers and a probable leadership challenge. But it is doubtful if such a rebellion will terminally undermine her position. Leaders have faced such crises before – as did John Major when he called the bluff of a similar rebellion in 1995. |
| Seeking a parliamentary consensus is the proper constitutional way forward. May should be able to win support this autumn for a realistic negotiating strategy in Brussels, irrespective of her party’s internal disputes. For the next year, such an outbreak of sanity could lead Britain to a new, perhaps even constructive, semi-detachment from the EU. It would serve the national interest. | Seeking a parliamentary consensus is the proper constitutional way forward. May should be able to win support this autumn for a realistic negotiating strategy in Brussels, irrespective of her party’s internal disputes. For the next year, such an outbreak of sanity could lead Britain to a new, perhaps even constructive, semi-detachment from the EU. It would serve the national interest. |
| • Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist | • Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist |
| Brexit | Brexit |
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| Article 50 | Article 50 |
| European Union | European Union |
| Foreign policy | Foreign policy |
| Theresa May | Theresa May |
| David Miliband | David Miliband |
| Nick Clegg | Nick Clegg |
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