May's Brexit plan a 'pragmatic compromise' - MP Fabricant
Theresa May's 12-point Brexit plan has been lauded as a 'pragmatic compromise' by an ardent Leave-backing Tory MP.
Michael Fabricant says the deal the Prime Minister thrashed out with her Cabinet will be a 'grand compromise' that restores the independence of the UK and boosts its economy.
The fallout from the meeting at Chequers last week has already seen Boris Johnson and David Davis quit their Government posts, while some pro-Leave Tory MPs have criticised the deal as 'Brexit in name only'.
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However, Lichfield MP Mr Fabricant, a long-time critic of the EU, has given his backing to Mrs May's proposals.
He wrote in The Guardian: "And while it won’t satisfy the Trappist monk wing of Brexiteers who believe in the complete purity and absoluteness of Brexit, the deal will satisfy many who still want some sort of continuing relationship with the continent."
But he admitted that 'the deal raises many questions which have yet to be answered'.
Mr Fabricant said 'the jury is probably still out' over whether the Government's decision to maintain a 'common rulebook' with the EU would prohibit membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an international trade agreement that operates outside the bloc.
He also questioned whether the deal would be acceptable to the EU, and what 'further compromises' would be needed for Brussels to agree to the UK's terms.
The stepping up of 'no deal' planning showed that lessons had been learned from David Cameron's failure to wring concessions out of the EU, he added.
"Free movement will be ended and border controls with Europe reinstated," he wrote. "And the PM has made clear she will not entertain any possibility of our paying for continued access to the EU market. There will be a huge Brexit dividend.
"We will leave the Common Agriculture Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK will be terminated. And yes, we will Brexit at 11pm on March 30, 2019.
"The biggest problem Theresa May now faces is selling this complex and nuanced proposal to her MPs and the British public.
"The deal could be a Grand Compromise that restores the independence of the UK while boosting our domestic economy. Some will see it as a sell-out and a Grand Betrayal.
"As an ardent Brexiteer, I go for the former."
