Chequers deal could be altered after Brexit by future Prime Minister, Michael Gove claims
Michael Gove has tried to persuade Brexiteers to back the Chequers plan by stressing that the deal can be renegotiated once the UK has left the European Union.
The Environment Secretary said that whilst Chequers is “the right deal for now”, a future prime minister would have the power to “alter the relationship” and elements of the agreement.
Asked whether he believed Mrs May’s proposals were permanent or temporary solution, Mr Gove said that at present it was the correct approach because it delivered on the referendum result by taking Britain out of the EU’s “political institutions”.
It would aso mean that services - “the bulk of our economy” - would be outside of the EU’s common rulebook and able to diverge, he added.
However, when pressed, Mr Gove said that it would be up to the “House of Commons in future to chart this nation’s destiny”, adding: “a future prime minister could always choose to alter the relationship between Britain and the European Union”.
It comes nearly 12 months after Mr Gove, a prominent figure in the Leave campaign, wrote in The Daily Telegraph that voters would be able to ditch parts of the Brexit deal at future elections if they are unhappy with them.
In his column, he added that “if the British people dislike the agreement that we have negotiated with the EU, the agreement will allow a future government to diverge”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr on Sunday, Mr Gove reiterated that the deal could be redrawn by future Parliaments.
Asked whether Britain would still be governed by a common rulebook with the EU in 15 years time, he said: “We also have a democratic lock. It is up to the House of Commons in the future to chart this country’s destiny and to decide what we want to do if EU law changes.
"But the Chequers approach is the right one for now because we have got to make sure that we respect that vote and take advantage of the opportunities of being outside the European Union."
With the deadline for a deal with the EU fast approaching, Mr Gove also urged officials in Brussels to reciprocate the “flexibility” shown by the Government in order to reach an agreement beneficial to both sides.
Ahead of a crucial meeting of European leaders in Salzburg next week, he said that he and other ministers “expect and hope” there will be compromise, adding: “I’ve compromised. I've been quite clear that some of the things that I argued for in the referendum passionately, as a result of Chequers I have to qualify one or two of my views.
"I have to acknowledge the parliamentary arithmetic.I believe the critical thing is making sure we leave in good order with a deal which safeguards the referendum mandate."
Separately, Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, said that he had grown more confident of securing a deal in recent weeks, telling Sky News that there had been “more reassuring noises from the European Commission and some of our European partners”.
“Certainly they’ve understood that Britain is serious that if we don’t get a good deal we could end up with no deal,” he continued.
“I think they’ve taken the economic view that we have to get a liberal and open agreement on trade with Britain...and I think the dial has moved in that direction.
“It is impossible to say how much, because we need to get agreement of all our European partners. But the ones that I’ve been talking to and some of my colleagues have been talking to, have certainly seen a more positive view about the need to get that economic agreement.
“I do detect there is movement from the European Union towards getting a deal. It’s by no means certain, but it’s moving in the right direction.”
