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Brexit: EU official doubts backstop assurances will persuade MPs – Politics live Brexit: Barnier says backstop is 'only operational solution' to Irish border issue – Politics live
(35 minutes later)
And this is from Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, after his meeting with the Dutch PM, Mark Rutte.
Dialogue @EU27 continues #Brexit. Today in The Hague with @MinPres Mark Rutte: full agreement that Withdrawal Agreement cannot be reopened. Backstop = only operational solution to address Irish border issue today. EU ready to work on alternative solutions during transition. pic.twitter.com/YsCNI10K71
Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, says the decision not to build the X-Trail in Sunderland is a disappointment.
She says the Clark letter to Nissan promised that the car industry would not be “adversely affected” by Brexit.
But the company clearly does not believe those assurances any more, she says.
She challenges Clark to rule out a no-deal Brexit.
She says the Nissan announcement came just days after the EU’s trade deal with Japan came into force. She says over time this will lead to tariffs on cars from Japan falling to zero.
She suggests that “managed decline” is now the government’s plan for the car industry.
Clark says he is disappointed that the new jobs associated with the X-Trail will not come to Sunderland. But he is pleased the rest of the investment is going ahead.
Greg Clark, the business secretary, is making his Nissan statement now.
He says in July 2016 Nissan was about to announce that the Qashquai would be built elsewhere in Europe.
He says, knowing what this would do to the Sunderland plant’s long-term future, the government set out to persuade the company to change its mind.
First, it stressed the measures in place to support the car in industry generally. The government eventually offered £61m to help.
Second, the government said it would help with the supply chain.
Third, it offered to help with R&D. In particularly, it is promoting self-drive cars.
And, fourth, it said it would prioritise the needs to the automative industry in the Brexit talks.
Clark says these offers were persuasive.
Towards the end of the process Nissan said it would start producing the X-Trail at the plant too.
He says that at the end of last week Nissan said that, while the rest of its planned investment would go ahead, the X-Trail would not be built there. That meant 714 extra jobs that could have been created have been lost.
This is from Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister.
Just spoke with @MichelBarnier about #Brexit. The Withdrawal Agreement remains the only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the European Union. We continue to urge the UK Government to clarify its intentions with respect to its next steps. pic.twitter.com/wbGHSz8wUY
The BBC’s business editor, Simon Jack, has more evidence of the government making comments in 2016 about Nissan not being paid for its Sunderland investment which are hard to square with what we know now. (See 4.11pm.)
"no question of financial compensation" - Greg Clark Oct 2016 publicly on Nissan decision to build Qashqai and X-Trail in Sunderland. "As a demonstration of the UK Government’s commitment... a package of support...could amount to..up to £80m" same month in letter to Nissan.
This is from Matthew O’Toole, who used to work on communications in Downing Street in the David Cameron era, on the David Trimble story. (See 4.38pm.)
Important top trumps rules when understanding how NI is covered from London:10 DUP MPs beats the majority of people in Northern Ireland.1 David Trimble beats the majority of people in Northern Ireland.
O’Toole is right. In an essay in Britain and Public Opinion 2019 (pdf), published by the UK in a Changing Europe project last month, Jamie Pow points out that even DUP supporters in Northern Ireland don’t support DUP policy on Brexit. A majority of them want a soft Brexit, even though the DUP has made it clear that it would be happy to see the UK leave both the single market and the customs union (ie, a hard Brexit, for the purposes of this survey).
Turning back to Marin Selmayr for a moment, Mina Andreeva, the European commission’s deputy chief spokeswoman has posted a tweet that seems intended to mollify Brexiters upset by the tone of his intervention earlier. She was responding to Fraser Nelson, editor of the pro-Brexit Spectator.Turning back to Marin Selmayr for a moment, Mina Andreeva, the European commission’s deputy chief spokeswoman has posted a tweet that seems intended to mollify Brexiters upset by the tone of his intervention earlier. She was responding to Fraser Nelson, editor of the pro-Brexit Spectator.
For the sake of completeness:1/ @MartinSelmayr made clear that @MichelBarnier is @EU_Commission’s chief negotiator. https://t.co/AILUEJwCit2/ @EU_Commission always open to listen - in full respect of national parliaments. Our position is expressed here: https://t.co/GKRKYR7pfMFor the sake of completeness:1/ @MartinSelmayr made clear that @MichelBarnier is @EU_Commission’s chief negotiator. https://t.co/AILUEJwCit2/ @EU_Commission always open to listen - in full respect of national parliaments. Our position is expressed here: https://t.co/GKRKYR7pfM
Lord Trimble, the former Ulster Unionist party leader who won a Nobel peace prize for his role in the Good Friday agreement, has announced that he and others “are planning to take the government to court over the protocol on Northern Ireland - which includes the so-called “backstop” - as it breaches the terms of the Good Friday agreement.”Lord Trimble, the former Ulster Unionist party leader who won a Nobel peace prize for his role in the Good Friday agreement, has announced that he and others “are planning to take the government to court over the protocol on Northern Ireland - which includes the so-called “backstop” - as it breaches the terms of the Good Friday agreement.”
The announcement came in a three sentence press statement from Global Britain, a pro-Brexit thinktank. It said:The announcement came in a three sentence press statement from Global Britain, a pro-Brexit thinktank. It said:
The Nobel peace prize winner and architect of the Good Friday agreement plans to initiate judicial review proceedings to ensure that the protocol is removed from the withdrawal agreement.The Nobel peace prize winner and architect of the Good Friday agreement plans to initiate judicial review proceedings to ensure that the protocol is removed from the withdrawal agreement.
Lord Trimble says that alternative arrangements - as outlined in A Better Deal And A Better Future - should be put in place instead.Lord Trimble says that alternative arrangements - as outlined in A Better Deal And A Better Future - should be put in place instead.
A Better Deal and a Better Future is an alternative Brexit plan published last month by Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the European Research Group.A Better Deal and a Better Future is an alternative Brexit plan published last month by Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the European Research Group.
Global Britain has not given any more detail about Trimble’s legal argument, and it is highly possible that this will turn out to be one of those legal challenges that will die an early death on its first encounter with a judge.Global Britain has not given any more detail about Trimble’s legal argument, and it is highly possible that this will turn out to be one of those legal challenges that will die an early death on its first encounter with a judge.
UPDATE: It is also worth pointing out that Global Britain is one of the most doctrinaire of the pro-Brexit thinktanks. One of its founders was Lord Pearson of Rannoch, who was the Ukip leader who admitted during the 2010 election campaign that he had not read the party’s manifesto. ITV’s Carl Dinnen sums up the Trimble legal argument quite well here.UPDATE: It is also worth pointing out that Global Britain is one of the most doctrinaire of the pro-Brexit thinktanks. One of its founders was Lord Pearson of Rannoch, who was the Ukip leader who admitted during the 2010 election campaign that he had not read the party’s manifesto. ITV’s Carl Dinnen sums up the Trimble legal argument quite well here.
Meanwhile Lord Trimble is suing the Government.He says the Irish backstop designed to protect the Good Friday Agreement within the Withdrawal Agreement (which hasn’t been agreed) actually breaches the Good Friday Agreement. Got that?Meanwhile Lord Trimble is suing the Government.He says the Irish backstop designed to protect the Good Friday Agreement within the Withdrawal Agreement (which hasn’t been agreed) actually breaches the Good Friday Agreement. Got that?
We now know that the government offered up to £80m to Nissan in 2016 in the form of support, in return for a decision to build the Qashqhai and X-Trail models at Sunderland. Subsequently that got revised down to £61m. (See 3.45pm.)We now know that the government offered up to £80m to Nissan in 2016 in the form of support, in return for a decision to build the Qashqhai and X-Trail models at Sunderland. Subsequently that got revised down to £61m. (See 3.45pm.)
But at the time Downing Street denied offering the company a special deal. Here is an extract from the story my colleague Rowena Mason wrote in October 2016.But at the time Downing Street denied offering the company a special deal. Here is an extract from the story my colleague Rowena Mason wrote in October 2016.
No 10 is refusing to disclose what state support has been given to Nissan to convince the car manufacturer to boost production at its Sunderland plant despite its worries about Brexit. Downing Street insisted there was no “sweetheart deal” with the Japanese company, but acknowledged that Theresa May had given some assurances to the wider industry that it would be protected from the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU ...No 10 is refusing to disclose what state support has been given to Nissan to convince the car manufacturer to boost production at its Sunderland plant despite its worries about Brexit. Downing Street insisted there was no “sweetheart deal” with the Japanese company, but acknowledged that Theresa May had given some assurances to the wider industry that it would be protected from the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU ...
No 10 refused to say what has been promised to the car industry or to say whether any public money was involved, although it signalled that it had not made any declaration to the EU about a proposal to offer state aid. “The assurances are that we will get the best possible deal from leaving the EU,” May’s deputy official spokesman said. “There was no special deal for Nissan.”No 10 refused to say what has been promised to the car industry or to say whether any public money was involved, although it signalled that it had not made any declaration to the EU about a proposal to offer state aid. “The assurances are that we will get the best possible deal from leaving the EU,” May’s deputy official spokesman said. “There was no special deal for Nissan.”
Thanks to ID499187 in the comments for prompting this line of enquiry.Thanks to ID499187 in the comments for prompting this line of enquiry.
No doubt Greg Clark, the business secretary, will be pressed on this when he makes his Commons statement, probably at around 5pm.No doubt Greg Clark, the business secretary, will be pressed on this when he makes his Commons statement, probably at around 5pm.
In 2016 the Commons Treasury committee, which was then chaired by the Conservative Andrew Tyrie, repeatedly tried to find out from the government whether the Greg Clark letter to Nissan, which at that point was confidential, contained any financial promises. The government repeatedly refused to say.In 2016 the Commons Treasury committee, which was then chaired by the Conservative Andrew Tyrie, repeatedly tried to find out from the government whether the Greg Clark letter to Nissan, which at that point was confidential, contained any financial promises. The government repeatedly refused to say.
(At the time there was speculation that there might have been a promise to ensure Nissan would not lose out if the UK left the customs union, leading to a loss in exports.)(At the time there was speculation that there might have been a promise to ensure Nissan would not lose out if the UK left the customs union, leading to a loss in exports.)
In a letter to Clark, Nicky Morgan, the current chair of the committee, has asked why the £61m eventually offered to Nissan (see 3.45pm) was not disclosed at the time. She also calls for the publication of the full text of the letter, although that request is now redundant because the business department were publishing the text around the time Morgan was releasing her letter.In a letter to Clark, Nicky Morgan, the current chair of the committee, has asked why the £61m eventually offered to Nissan (see 3.45pm) was not disclosed at the time. She also calls for the publication of the full text of the letter, although that request is now redundant because the business department were publishing the text around the time Morgan was releasing her letter.
Greg Clark, the business secretary, has released his letter to Nissan (pdf) partly in response to a long-standing request from the Commons business committee. He has published it today alongside a letter to Rachel Reeves, the committee chair.Greg Clark, the business secretary, has released his letter to Nissan (pdf) partly in response to a long-standing request from the Commons business committee. He has published it today alongside a letter to Rachel Reeves, the committee chair.
In his letter to Nissan in October 2016 Clark promised the company “a package of support in areas such as skills, R&D and innovation” worth up to £80m. That was contingent on the Qashqai and the X-Trail being built at Sunderland.In his letter to Nissan in October 2016 Clark promised the company “a package of support in areas such as skills, R&D and innovation” worth up to £80m. That was contingent on the Qashqai and the X-Trail being built at Sunderland.
But in his letter to Reeves Clark says that the company was actually offered £61m in June 2018.But in his letter to Reeves Clark says that the company was actually offered £61m in June 2018.
The original link to the Greg Clark Nissan letter that I posted at 3.15pm was faulty, but I have now fixed it.
Here is the full quote from Angela Merkel on Brexit today. (See 1.38pm.) She was speaking on a visit to Tokyo.
We want to do everything to ensure that a no deal doesn’t happen, because that would only heighten insecurity. We’re happy that a majority in the British parliament feels the same. Now we have to figure out what to do. We’re saying that the exit treaty took a long time to negotiate, so we don’t want to re-open the exit treaty. That’s not on the agenda.
But we’re still discussing the future mechanism. And in the future relationship, you can also address issues that are still being discussed - for example with the management of the border between Northern Ireland, which belongs to the UK, and the Republic of Ireland and by extension the European Union.
There are certainly possibilities to resolve this point - that is, guaranteeing the integrity of the single market, the unity of the single market, even if Northern Ireland isn’t part of that, and on the other hand the desire to have as far as possible no controls at the Irish border. You have to be creative and listen to each other - such discussions can and must take place. We can now use the time to reach an agreement where beforehand agreement wasn’t possible, if there’s enough good will. But we have to hear from the UK - this is the decisive point - how they view this.
Merkel says a Brexit deal can be agreed if people are “creative” and if “there’s enough good will”.
But she says the EU has to hear what the UK wants.
She says the withdrawal treaty will not be re-opened.
The business department has now published the full text (pdf) of the letter that Greg Clark, the business secretary, sent to Nissan in 2016 promising financial support in return for the X-Trail being built at Sunderland.
Here is Jeremy Cliffe, the Economist’s Charelemagne columnist, on the Martin Selmayr tweet quoted earlier. (See 1.26pm.)
This exchange is such a good illustration of the trait that has most marked the Brexit talks: mutual misunderstanding, and especially British misunderstanding of EU positions. https://t.co/qdvCWH359D
In 2016, after the Brexit vote, Nissan announced that it would be building Qashqai and X-Trail models at its factory in Sunderland. At the time it was revealed that the company had received assurances from the government, in the form of a letter from Greg Clark, the business secretary, but the precise nature of those assurances was never revealed because the letter was not published.
The Nissan announcement at the weekend reversed part of what was promised by the company in 2016.
And the Financial Times has now got hold of the Clark letter. As Peter Campbell reports (paywall), the government promised Nissan that its operations would not be “adversely affected” by Brexit.
The government also promised the firm £80m towards investment at the site, but the letter said that money was “contingent too on a positive decision by the Nissan board to allocate production of the Qashqai and X-Trail models to the Sunderland plant”, the FT reports.
The FT story goes on:
The government made no specific promise on the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU — such as remaining in the bloc’s customs union — but vowed to protect car manufacturers in the UK. They would be a “critical priority of our negotiations” with the EU, the letter said.
“The government fully recognises the significance of the EU markets to your presence in Sunderland,” the letter stated. “It will be a critical priority of our negotiations to support UK car manufacturers, and ensure their ability to export to and from the EU is not adversely affected by the UK’s future relationship with the EU.”
On the World at One John Whittingdale, the Brexiter former culture secretary and a member of the Commons Brexit committee, said that after the committee met Martin Selmayr, the European commission’s secretary general, he came away with the impression that the PM woud not secure meaningful change to the Brexit deal. He explained:
Selmaryr told us what we have heard from others in the commission, that basically they regard the deal as having been finalised ... and they don’t wish to reopen it.
They did say that the political declaration is open for discussion in the future. But they said that they could not reopen the withdrawal agreement.
They did talk about legal assurances, in the form of the letter that we have already had from Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk. I have to say that, for those of us who couldn’t support the withdrawal agreement, I certainly didn’t hear anything that gave me great hope that the prime minister would come back with a change to the withdrawal agreement.
I think what we have also made plain to [Selmayr is that] unless that happens, it is very unlikely that the House of Commons will agree to it.
Whittingdale also said that he gave Selmayr a copy of the so-called Malthouse compromise and told him he thought it was the one version of the deal that might get through the Commons. Asked how Selmayr responded, Whittingdale said: “He is still of a view that the deal has been done and it is now up to the British parliament to ratify it.”
Whittingdale also said Selmayr was sceptical about extending article 50 if it was not clear what purpose extension would serve. He said:
[Selmayr] made the fair point that there was no point extending article 50 if one did not know what we were seeking to do in the period of the extension.
Whittingdale also said that the committee met Selmayr because, although Michel Barnier was the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, if the deal that Barnier negotiated fell through, Selmayr would then become the key person to deal with.
But Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has said that “with creativity” a solution to the backstop problem could still be found.
"We can use the remaining time to perhaps remove all the obstacles that have so far stood in the way and find an agreement - if everybody is willing."👉 Chancellor Merkel this morning said that 'with creativity' Northern Ireland solution might be possible. 🤞 #Brexit pic.twitter.com/AgSsEwCcr3
This is from Martin Selmayr, the European commission’s secretary general.
On the EU side, nobody is considering this. Asked whether any assurance would help to get the Withdrawal Agreement through the Commons, the answers of MPs were ... inconclusive .... The meeting confirmed that the EU did well to start its no deal preparations in December 2017.
Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Fein leader in Northern Ireland, has welcomed Labour’s commitment to the backstop. (See 1.11pm.) Speaking after meeting Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, at the Europa Hotel in Belfast, O’Neill said:
It was important today to put to Keir Starmer that we need to see clarity from the Labour party on the backstop. He did say in the meeting that the backstop is inevitable and that is the Labour position. It’s their position because they understand the need to ensure there’s no hard border on this island.
O’Neill said that it was important to hear from Starmer on this because in the past Labour had not been clear and consistent on the backstop. The party has argued in the past that there would be no need for one under its plan for Brexit because it would keep the UK in the customs union (even though that alone would not obviate the need for the backstop if Northern Ireland were outside the single market). O’Neill said:
The words [Starmer] used to ourselves in the meeting today were clearly that a backstop is inevitable - that is the Labour position in order to protect, or guard against a hard border and I can only say that that’s what he’s relayed to us.
And Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, has also said that attempts to find an alternative to the backstop will fail. Speaking on a visit to Northern Ireland, he said:
The prime minister and her team have spent over 12 months trying to find an alternative to the backstop.
We have only got the backstop because they couldn’t find an alternative.
So, for her to go back now saying ‘I don’t want the backstop, I want an alternative’ is to stand the last 12 months on its head.
And I think that’s what is causing the anxiety because nobody realistically thinks she’s going to succeed in that objective.
Starmer also said that Labour had “concerns” about the backstop, but that it accepted there had to be one.