Downing Street lobby briefing on Brexit no-deal economic analysis, negotiation deadline and whether the UK could end up like Greece
3 min read
At a briefing for lobby journalists, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister was asked about all things Brexit.
NO-DEAL ANALYSIS
Asked whether the Government would publish a final analysis of the economic risks of a no-deal Brexit before MPs get a 'meaningful vote' on the final Brexit deal in parliament, the spokesperson said: “Once a deal is agreed we have committed to provide parliament with the appropriate analysis ahead of the meaningful vote... I’m not going to get into the content of what the analysis may contain... We don’t actually anticipate the situation where we have no deal; we are confident that we will negotiate a successful outcome as a result of the ongoing dialogue with the commission.”
NEGOTIATION DEADLINE
Asked whether Brexit negotiations could extend to late October, as suggested by First Secretary of State David Lidington, the spokesperson said: "The PM has already addressed this. She has confirmed we are working to the October deadline and that remains the case. We are working to the deadline. There is a deadline the Commission set out and we are working to that."
MACRON ON CHEQUERS
Asked whether the Prime Minister was disappointed that the French President Emmanuel Macron said her Chequers plan risked "unravelling" the EU, the spokesperson said: "What we have said and continue to say is we are confident that we can negotiate the deal that we are after and we are also committed to maintaining relations with the EU and it is in our interests for the EU to remain a strong trading partner and ally of the UK."
CHEQUERS AND GREECE
Asked whether former Cabinet minister Boris Johnson was wrong to suggest the UK could end up with an economic hit like Greece under the Brexit plan put forward by Theresa May, the spokesperson said: "If you look at the recent interactions there have been between the Brexit Secretary and (Michel) Barnier I think we can see both parties are going about these negotiations in the spirit of great goodwill and are working very hard to achieve the outcome that both sides recognise will deliver for the citizens of the UK and will deliver for the citizens of the EU and that is very much the approach that everyone is taking - that we are closing in on a deal and a significant amount of the withdrawal agreement is now agreed and we remain confident that we can make this progress by October...
"We are focusing on the positive of how we set about the negotiations and the likely outcome of that. But as we have set out no deal planning is taking place and the purpose of that is to make sure the UK continues to thrive and succeed outside the EU in whatever scenario."
