BREXITEERS MANAGE TO MANGLE MAY'S BREXIT FUDGE TO MAKE IT UNACCEPTABLE TO BRUSSELS - VICTORY FOR JACOB REES-MOGG

UK Prime Minister Theresa May's "Soft Brexit" plan, which recently caused several of her Cabinet colleagues to resign, has not been stopped dead in its tracks yet, but it has apparently been fatally wounded by several amendments made to it in Parliament by Conservative MPs supporting Hard Brexit.

The four amendments from the European Research Group of Conservative MPs led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, were surprisingly accepted by the government and narrowly passed in votes in the Houses of Parliament yesterday despite rebellions by Conservative Remain supporters who want to keep the UK as close to the EU as possible.

★One of the amendments stops the UK from collecting tariffs on goods entering the UK on their way to the EU, unless the rest of the EU reciprocates by collecting tariffs on goods entering the EU on their way to the UK.

★Another amendment rules out having a customs border that separates Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, and thus makes a "hard border" (customs border) between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland more likely.  

★The third amendment ensures that the UK is independent from the EU’s VAT regime and can set its own rates.

★The final amendment requires new legislation if the government in future wants to form a customs union with the EU.

While these are all common-sense amendments that are in harmony with the government's declared position on delivering "a Brexit that means Brexit," the fact is that they are unlikely to be acceptable to the EU, which wants to (a) punish the UK for leaving the EU as an example to other member states, and (b) if possible reduce the UK to a kind of vassal state like Norway, which, even though it is outside the EU, has to follow and obey EU trading standards and regulations. 

There was a possibility that Brussels would have accepted May's Chequers plan, but these amendments make it more likely that the it will now reject the deal. This will lead to a new crisis and could push Britain into a no-deal exit, which would mean a complete break from the EU, something that Hard Brexiters are happy to accept.

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