Theresa May urged to exploit Angela Merkel's weakness to reduce Brexit divorce bill
2 min read
Theresa May is being urged to use the Angela Merkel’s electoral struggles to strengthen her hand in Brexit talks and secure a better deal on the so-called 'divorce bill'.
The German Chancellor looks set to call a second election after a poor performance at the polls and the collapse of subsequent coalition talks.
With Ms Merkel’s future in doubt, Tory MPs are calling on Ms May to seize the chance to reduce the amount the UK will have to pay on exiting the EU.
With Brexit negotiations compromised amid Germany’s political crisis, senior Tory figure Iain Duncan Smith encouraged the Prime Minister to “sit tight” and suspend divorce bill negotiations.
It comes after weeks of pressure on Mrs May to increase the UK’s cash offer to Brussels in order to move the Brexit talks onto the future trading relationship, with ministers yesterday agreeing to raise the amount.
In a two-hour meeting at Downing Street, Mrs May proposed increasing her initial offer of £18bn to around £35bn. The EU has said it is looking for around £50bn.
However, leading Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove made it clear to the Prime Minister that the money should only be offered if the EU gives the green light next month to trade negotiations.
But having secured cautious agreement from her top team, the Prime Minister now faces calls to halt the process in order to take advantage of Mrs Merkel’s political turmoil.
Mr Duncan Smith said: “When you look at what is going on in Europe the idea that out of that chaotic situation can come any sort of understanding is clearly not right, so we will have to sit tight.”
Arch Eurosceptic backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg argued: “Approving a higher divorce bill at this stage would be foolish.”
The Tory MP added: “As for Germany, its domestic political concerns make it less likely that it would want to risk the damage that could be done to its industry from the UK imposing tariffs on its exports.”
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