Too many people are “talking up inappropriately” the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit, Ireland’s deputy prime minister has said after talks with ministers in London, as Theresa May said people should not be worried by ongoing planning for such an event.
Simon Coveney, who is foreign minister as well as being Leo Varadkar’s number two, said people needed to drop the “tough stance” of almost welcoming no deal, saying it was now up to the UK to show flexibility in its talks.
The possibility of the UK crashing out of the EU has been talked up by some hard Brexiters in recent days, while on Tuesday the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, admitted that the government would have to ensure that there were adequate food supplies for the UK if it happened.
May said that rather than being alarmed, people should be comforted by the fact ministers were making preparations for this, while still expecting as good a deal as possible.
“This is a government that’s saying, you know what, we’re going to be responsible about this, we’re going to be sensible about this, but while we’re doing that we’re going to work for a really good deal that’s in the interests of people living here in the UK,” she told Five News.
Coveney was speaking after talks with May’s deputy, David Lidington, and the Northern Ireland secretary, Karen Bradley, as part of the British-Irish intergovernmental conference, the first such meeting in 11 years.
The arrangement was set up as part of the Good Friday agreement, meaning Wednesday’s talks were focused mainly on ways to kickstart Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government and executive, which has been frozen for 19 months.
After the discussions, Lidington said the UK did not want a no-deal departure, but was busy planning in case it happened.
“You have to put vim and vigour into it because you want to make sure that you have thought through all potential problems and you have got a contingency plan, which in that situation would work and deliver the best outcome in those circumstances,” he said.
But asked about the chances of this happening, Coveney played it down: “I think a lot of people are talking up inappropriately the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit. I don’t believe it’s likely. I don’t believe anybody wants it. I don’t believe there’s a majority, certainly in the parliament that I come from or in the parliament in London, that would support that.
“And so I think we need to be focusing on the intensification of the negotiations, to try and find solutions on a way forward, as opposed to the sort of tough stance that some people feel the need to take in relation to saying, ‘Well, do your worst, we can deal with a no-deal Brexit situation.’ That isn’t going to solve the problem.”
The Chequers plan and white paper formed “the basis of a new intensification of negotiations on what’s possible”, Coveney said, warning that talks needed to accelerate over the summer for a deal to be ready by October’s EU summit.
This would involve some UK compromises, he added: “The European Union has always said that if Britain were to soften its red lines on some of the issues in terms of these negotiations then it would show flexibility in return. And we need to test that now.”
He also warned against May’s negotiating position being reshaped by amendments proposed by hard Brexiters such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, as with four changes to the customs bill that the PM accepted last week.
“You can’t approach this by passing amendments in your parliament and then say, ‘Well, sorry, we can’t move now because we’ve passed an amendment,’ Coveney said. “The EU could play that game too, and could be passing legislation that would set the parameters for a negotiation.”
Describing the talks with Lidington and Bradley as frank and positive, Coveney – who was accompanied by the Irish justice minister, Charles Flanagan – said re-establishing devolved government in Northern Ireland was vital.
“We cannot allow Northern Ireland to drift and expect that there aren’t going to be really difficult issues,” he said. Unionists had “nothing to fear” from the process, he added: “This is an agreed structure that both governments have signed up to as part of the Good Friday agreement.”