The Guardian: Theresa May’s desperate attempts to unite her party and country behind a new Brexit blueprint were under severe strain on Saturday night, as more than 100 entrepreneurs and founders of UK businesses dismissed it as unworkable – and hardline anti-EU Tory MPs warned it could mean an outcome worse than “no deal” at all.
There were also signs that Brussels was less than impressed after an initial examination of the plans, which were thrashed out and agreed by the entire cabinet at an all-day summit at Chequers on Friday.
A letter released on Saturday night by the co-founder of Innocent Drinks, Richard Reed, and signed by the founders of Pret, Waterstones, Zoopla, Net-a- Porter, Domino’s, YO! Sushi and Jack Wills, among others, said that May’s customs proposal would be costly and bureaucratic for UK firms. They called for MPs to back amendments to the government’s trade and customs bills that would secure full customs union membership when the legislation is considered in parliament.
From the other side of the Brexit argument, the Tory MP and leader of the European Research Group (ERG) of hardline Brexiters, Jacob Rees-Mogg, questioned whether signing up to elements of the EU rulebook would amount to Brexit at all.
He warned that abiding by a common rule book could make “trade deals almost impossible”, adding that “it is possible that this deal is worse” than a “no-deal” Brexit.
