Theresa May claims ‘no deal’ is better than a Canada-style agreement with the EU
Theresa May has claimed a Canada-style free trade agreement with the EU is worse than no deal in comments which infuriated Brexit-backing Conservatives.
Speaking at the beginning of a two-day trip to New York, May shot down a proposal backed by her former Brexit Secretary David Davis that the UK should negotiate a looser arrangement with Brussels then she hoped for.
The plan, published by the Institute of Economic Affairs on Monday, would mean the UK would have to carry out customs checks on EU goods, although it suggests this would be done away from the Irish border in order to avoid the need for physical infrastructure.
One Conservative said it was "perverse" how May was clinging on to her own vision for Brexit, despite the EU rejecting it after a summit in Salzburg last week.
When asked by reporters travelling alongside her on a trip to the UN whether no deal was better than a Canada-style deal, May replied: “First of all I have always said no deal is better than a bad deal.
“I think a bad deal would be for example a deal that broke up the United Kingdom – we want to maintain the unity of the United Kingdom.”
“What we have put on the table is a good deal; it’s a deal which retains the union of the United Kingdom, our constitutional integrity.
"It’s a deal that provides for no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, protects jobs and enables us to have a good trading relationship with Europe and also the rest of the world.”
Her attack on a Canada-style agreement, which Tory Brexiteers argue should include zero tariffs on goods and agricultural products, comes as a new survey shows it is twice as popular as her Brexit vision.
The so-called Chequers proposal, which would see the UK sign up to a 'common rulebook' on goods and agri-foods with Brussels, has the support of just 14 per cent of the public, according to a HuffPost/BMG poll.
A Canada-style deal was the preferred Brexit outcome for 28 per cent, while leaving without a deal was the second most popular option, with 24 per cent support. Staying in the EU had the backing of 20 per cent.
Conservative MP Simon Clarke, who is backing the IEA's vision, believes unless May changes course, no deal is the most likely outcome of the talks.
He said: "The consequence of continuing to flog the dead horse that is Chequers is she's arguing for a harder Brexit than the ERG."
"It's a somewhat perverse place to be."
Stewart Jackson, a former Tory MP who served as an adviser to David Davis, told City A.M.: "I worry about how out of touch the Prime Minister is and the terrible advice she is getting.
"Chequers will not pass and the window of opportunity to save her premiership and unite the Conservative party is closing."