Theresa May Brexit threat to EU 'was correct': John Redwood challenged on BBC Newsnight
BBC • GETTY Mr Redwood said leaving the EU without a deal would be fine
John Redwood claimed that the UK will be leaving the single market and the customs union during a clash with a Labour MP who championed a complete reversal of the Brexit process. Newsnight presenter Emma Barnett accused the Brexiteer of wanting all of the perks and asked: “Why on earth would Brussels agree to this?” Mr Redwood replied: “This is helping Germany sell her cars to Britain.
"Brussels have much more interest than we do in terms of volume of trade and value of trade, particularly the value of trade that can attract tariffs under WTO [World Trade Organisation] rules. “The main thing at risk is if we go out with no deal, which is perfectly feasible for Britain and it would be fine, is that there would be big tariffs on agricultural products. “The Government's official line is that no deal would be better than a bad deal and that is obviously right.”
Brexit transition phase: Cabinet splits three ways Thu, August 10, 2017 Who is pushing for the most gradual departure possible from the EU? And who favours a cleaner break? Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 15 HARD BREXIT: Andrea Leadsom
Mr Redwood said: “It is good news that the Chancellor and the Trade Secretary both agree with the Governments policy that we are leaving the single market and we are leaving the customs union. “That is not just the Government’s wish, that is the fully expressed view of Parliament who had an important vote on this and we agreed that we will be leaving the single market and the customs union.” The Government wants an “interim period” where we keep a “close association” with the customs union, under which goods can be bought and sold tariff-free.
Does the government's customs union proposal indicate a "softer" Brexit is on the cards? @ChrisLeslieMP and @johnredwood debate #newsnight pic.twitter.com/ymppgxsPNr — BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) August 14, 2017
Labour MP Chris Leslie, spokesperson for the Open Britain campaign group, even claimed the move handed him hope that Brexit will be reversed. He said: “Let's think about reversing the whole thing, it is not too late. It is a step towards a soft Brexit but I think we could reverse the whole process.” Mr Redwood continued: “We would like something smooth and similar to what we have at the moment, it is easier to replicate what you have already got but we will not be in the customs union, we will be making our own trade agreements.
BBC Brexit trade deals should be started now according to Mr Redwood
“We have got 19 months before we are likely to leave the European Union, so instead of focusing on a transitional arrangement afterwards, surely we should be maximising our next 19 months. “One of the good things about this paper is it is getting the media and we hope the EU to understand that we need to talk about trade now.” The Government believes it can broker a “streamlined” deal with the bloc, building on the existing lack of tariffs within the union.
BBC Mr Leslie said he was still confident of a complete Brexit reversal