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Bloomberg
Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy has come under fresh fire, this time from a senior lawmaker in her own party who opposes a hard departure from the European Union.
Most of the criticism of May’s cabinet-backed “Chequers Plan†has come from Conservatives linked to the European Research Group, which seeks maximum distance from the EU and is pushing for an exit without a deal. They have rallied behind Boris Johnson, who withdrew his backing for May’s plan and quit as Foreign Secretary. As the clock ticks on Brexit talks, options for a Brexit deal May can get through Parliament appear to be vanishing.
The prime minister now finds herself taking fire from her other flank. On Sunday Nick Boles, a former minister who previously was loyal to May, said he couldn’t support the “humiliation†of the path she is taking, which he believes will end with the EU dictating Britain’s terms of departure.
His proposed “Better Brexit†alternative would see Britain abandon its current negotiation and instead attempt to continue membership of the European Economic Area from March 29, 2019, applying to become an associate member of the European Free Trade Association. This would give Britain a trading relationship with the EU similar to Norway’s. Boles then suggests using that position of safety to negotiate a long-term agreement with the EU that would be closer to Canada’s.