Downing Street lobby briefing on the Cabinet's Brexit discussion
2 min read
Here is a summary of a briefing for lobby journalists by the Prime Minister's official spokesman.
BREXIT
The spokesman said Cabinet met for an hour and 45 minutes to discuss "the future economic partnership the UK will be seeking with the EU". Some 25 ministers took part in the discussion, which was led by the Prime Minister.
He said: "The PM said it was clear what the Cabinet’s objective is: a deal which secures the best possible trading terms with the EU, enables the UK to set rules that are right for our situation, and facilitates ambitious third country trade deals.
"The PM said that, in developing our future economic partnership, we should be creative in designing our proposal. The Brexit Secretary and PM were clear that the UK is seeking a bespoke deal.
"The PM said she had been clear in her Florence speech that a European Economic Area model would not be right for Britain and would be democratically unsustainable, because it would mean automatically adopting all EU rules without influence or a vote. She also said the UK would also be seeking a significantly more ambitious deal than the EU’s agreement with Canada.
"Further Cabinet discussions will take place early in the New Year on the future partnership and the precise nature of the implementation period. The PM, summing up, said the positions adopted by the Government would be in the national interest and she was confident of building a dynamic post-Brexit economy which will deliver growth, jobs, prosperity and a better future."
On comments by Michel Barnier that financial services will not form part of any trade deal between the EU and UK, the spokesman said: "As we've said throughout, we're confident of negotiating a deep and special economic partnership that will include a good deal for financial services. That will be in the EU's best interests as well as ours."
