A minister has categorically ruled out the UK seeking a Swiss-style Brexit deal with the European Union as he said the question of Britain’s relationship with the bloc has been “settled”.
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said the Government is “going to stick with the relationship that we have secured” and “we are not going to reopen the discussions that we had a few years ago”.
Asked if the Government is going to do a Swiss-style deal with the EU, Mr Jenrick told Sky News: “No, we are not. We have a settled position.”
Mr Jenrick said that “doesn’t mean that we are not interested in improving our trading relations with the European Union” but he added: “But we are not going to reopen the discussions that we had a few years ago. We have a settled view and we are moving forwards on that basis.”
His comments came after Number 10 sources rubbished a suggestion by senior government figures that bespoke Swiss-style arrangements could be sought with the EU, potentially forcing Britain to align with the bloc’s rules and regulations.
Rishi Sunak is now facing a Tory Brexiteer backlash amid fears on the backbenches that the Government could move to soften the original Brexit deal.
Follow the latest updates below.
09:41 AM
Business chief tells Government to ‘forget’ Swiss-style deal ‘for now’
Tony Danker, the director general of the CBI, said he wants the Government to focus on implementing Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal amid suggestions ministers could seek Swiss-style trading arrangements with the EU.
Mr Danker told the BBC: “I am a bit puzzled about the whole Swiss thing. It took them about 40 years to get to the Swiss arrangement. Currently we are not even implementing Boris’s deal.
“Let’s implement Boris’s Brexit deal that still has some growth in it by the way that has all come to a freeze and let’s forget the discussion about Switzerland for now.”
He added: “All I want to do is implement Boris’s deal. Currently we are not implementing Boris’s deal. We have got an impasse because of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
“There is lots of freezing of our science relationships, of recognition of our qualifications, of easier travel across Europe. Those things will give us some growth but it needs the Europeans and the British government to get round the table and solve the protocol.”
09:23 AM
‘Sport is separate from politics to an extent’
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said “sport is separate from politics to an extent” when asked about Iran and Qatar’s participation in the World Cup.
Asked how he will feel watching England play Iran this afternoon, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Well, I’ll be cheering on England as you’d expect.
“But you’re right to say that Iran is an authoritarian regime. And there are a number of things about the way it treats its own people and it conducts malign activities in the region and elsewhere in the world that we’re deeply troubled by.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the football in the spirit that tournaments like this should be conducted in. The UK is very wide-eyed to the problems of the Iranian regime.”
Asked if both Iran and Qatar are “sports washing” their respective reputations through the World Cup, he said: “Well, sport is separate from politics to an extent.”
09:03 AM
‘We wouldn’t go back to the things that have already been decided’
There would be no return to freedom of movement under a Labour government, a shadow minister has said.
Tulip Siddiq, the shadow Treasury minister, told Sky News: “We won’t go back to freedom of movement.”
Asked if Labour would agree to restart payments to the EU to secure closer trade links, she said: “We wouldn’t go back to the things that have already been decided. So in terms of freedom of movement, in terms of the options that were on the table… that deal has been done, people voted and no, we won’t be going back to that.”
08:52 AM
Labour accuses Tories of making ‘huge mess’ of Brexit
Tulip Siddiq, Labour’s shadow Treasury minister, accused the Government of making a “huge mess” of Brexit amid suggestions it could seek a Swiss-style deal with Brussels.
She told Sky News: “We have actually been very clear from the summeer onwards about our Brexit deal but let’s just be clear about the fact that this deal is the Conservatives’ deal and they have made a huge hash of it.
“After talking constantly about getting Brexit done, they have ramped up very divisive rhetoric with our closest trading poartners, they made a huge hash of the Northern Ireland Protocol, they also signed a deal with Australia that ministers themselves are now trying to avoid.
“So for us the truth is they talked about getting Brexit done but they didn’t actually get anything done and they have made a huge mess.”
08:45 AM
CBI boss says increased immigration can ‘plug the gap’ in UK workforce
Increased immigration must be used to “plug the gap” in the UK workforce as businesses struggle to fill job vacancies, Tony Danker, the director of the Confederation of British Industry, has argued.
He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “When it comes to immigration, it’s quite interesting, when you look at the OBR report on Thursday, they said the only thing that’s really moved the needle on growth is by allowing in a bit more immigration.
“The reason why it’s so important is we have literally over a million vacancies in this country, we have 600,000 people who are now long-term unwell, who aren’t coming back to the labour market any time soon.
“That’s why we have to get this shortage occupation list – the list of people that we’re really missing that we aren’t going to get in Britain any time soon – and we have to get them to plug the gap while we re-calibrate the labour market in the medium term.
“I’m afraid it’s one of those levers that does help you grow, doesn’t cost money, but I recognise it’s a tough political choice for Conservative politicians.”
He made the comments ahead of a CBI conference which gets underway this morning.
08:37 AM
Government has ‘no intention of introducing charges to access NHS’
The UK Government has no intention of introducing charges to use the NHS in England, Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has said after the BBC reported health service chiefs in Scotland have discussed asking the wealthy to pay for treatment.
Mr Jenrick told TalkTV: “I haven’t seen the story about Scotland. We certainly don’t have any intention to introduce charges to the NHS.
“There is an issue with people still not coming forward post-pandemic with conditions and the NHS has been surprised by people’s reluctance to present themselves for a range of different conditions.”
08:31 AM
Minister backs Harry Kane wearing ‘OneLove’ armband
The Football Association has been told by Fifa that it risks “sporting sanctions” which include a yellow card for Harry Kane if the England captain wears the “OneLove” armband at the World Cup fixture against Iran later today (you can read the story here).
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, this morning said it would be “perfectly right” for Kane to wear the armband as he backed the move.
Asked how he would feel about the armband being worn, Mr Jenrick said: “I am fine with him wearing that. I think it’s a decision for Harry Kane. He is the captain of the team, he has been a great captain. I think we all respect him, willing the team on.
“It is a decision for him whether he chooses to do that and we as a country obviously and rightly have high values when it comes to LGBT community freedoms and it is perfectly right for a British team to make that clear when they play overseas, particularly in a country that doesn’t uphold the same standards.”
08:25 AM
Minister rules out restarting payments to EU for closer trade links
The Government has “no intention” of restarting payments to the EU to secure a closer trading relationship, Robert Jenrick has said.
It has been suggested that the UK could resume paying Brussels in order to bolster the existing trade deal. But the immigration minister told Sky News: “We’ve no intention of doing that.
“Money, free movement, jurisdiction of European judges: these are really important things that were discussed at length within the Conservative Party, within the country, a few years ago.
“We chose our position. I think it’s broadly the right one, because we did that for a reason.”
08:22 AM
Minister tells businesses to focus on domestic workforce amid calls for more migrant workers
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said British employers should look to the “domestic workforce” if they are seeking “lower-skilled labour” as he insisted the UK is committed to cutting net migration.
It comes as the boss of the CBI business group is set to use a speech today to urge politicians to end arguments over Brexit and use immigration to solve worker shortages in a bid to boost growth.
Mr Jenrick said the Government disagrees with the CBI on the need for more immigrant workers, telling Talk TV: “We want to bring down net migration. It’s something that is, as you say, very important to the British people and we’re on the side of the British people.”
He added: “If British employers are looking for lower-skilled labour, then the first port of call should be the domestic workforce.”
08:20 AM
‘No question whatsoever of us reopening the fundamental tenets of that deal’
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said there is “no question whatsoever” of the UK “reopening the fundamental tenets” of the original Brexit deal agreed with the EU.
He told Talk TV: “We have a settled position on our relationship with the European Union, that’s the deal that was struck in 2019 and 2020 – and that’s the one that we intend to stick to.
“That sets out the fundamental position that we don’t want to see a return to free movement, we don’t want to have the jurisdiction of European judges in the UK, and we don’t want to be paying any money to the European Union.
“Of course there will be things on which we can improve our relationship – trade, security, migration are all key topics, and the Prime Minister wants to have the most productive relationship possible with our European friends and neighbours.
“But there’s no question whatsoever of us reopening the fundamental tenets of that deal.”
08:18 AM
Minister categorically rules out Swiss-style Brexit deal
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, has categorically ruled out the UK seeking a Swiss-style relationship with the European Union.
Asked if the UK is going to do a Swiss-style deal with Brussels, he told Sky News: “No, we are not. We have a settled position. There was a long debate as you well recall and there were respectable arguments on both sides as to the degree of relationship that we had with the European Union but we chose one in 2019, in 2020 when Boris Johnson signed the deal with the European Union which was very clear.
“There wouldn’t be jurisdiction of European judges in the UK, we wouldn’t be paying money to the European Union and there wouldn’t be freedom of movement and those fundamental principles are the ones that will govern our relationship going forward.
“I don’t know where the story came from in the Sunday papers. It is not one that we recognise and we are going to stick with the relationship that we have secured.
“That doesn’t mean that we are not interested in improving our trading relations with the European Union or indeed in my sphere our security and migration partnership with the European Union… but we are not going to reopen the discussions that we had a few years ago. We have a settled view and we are moving forwards on that basis.”
08:16 AM
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to today’s politics live blog.
Brexit is back and leading the political news amid suggestions the Government could look to soften the UK’s deal with the EU and seek Swiss-style arrangements.
The Government is denying the reported move but Tory Brexiteers are nervous and are seeking cast iron assurances that there will be no backsliding.
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, is due to deliver a speech at the CBI conference this morning so the issue may well come up then. The pressure will continue to grow on the PM to clarify the situation until he speaks publicly on the matter.
I will guide you through the key developments.
