Following the Brexit Secretary’s statement on the White Paper on legislating for the withdrawal agreement, Jonathan Djanogly raises concerns about a ‘no deal’ scenario and calls on the Government to accept evidence that a customs union-based approach is better than no deal.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon) (Con)
The Government are still maintaining that no deal is preferable to a bad deal. Over the summer, the Secretary of State will be going round the European Union selling the Government’s White Paper policy document, and in that he has my full support. However, if he were to fail, for whatever reason, would he accept the clear evidence that a customs union-based approach is still preferable to no deal?
Dominic Raab
I appreciate the way in which my hon. Friend tries to tempt me down that particular path, but I think that it is only right to prepare for all eventualities in relation to the money, to the operational contingency planning that we are doing, and to the legislative steps. Obviously our overriding focus is on getting the best deal, and I shall be spending the weeks and months ahead in Brussels, talking to Michel Barnier and his team, and focusing on that. I shall be out there again on Thursday, looking to achieve the best deal.