An illustration shows the white paper setting out Britain's government statergy for departing the European Union, outside Parliament, in London, Britain February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
Britain will do its utmost to negotiate a divorce deal with the European Union that is mutually beneficial, Brexit minister David Davis said on Thursday, setting out the government's strategy in an official policy document.
The publication of the "White Paper" is part of an attempt by Prime Minister Theresa May to keep MPs on side as she launches Britain's formal divorce talks with the EU.
Britain's future relationship with the European Union has split opinion in parliament, where the majority of MPs voted to remain a member of the bloc in a June referendum. Some fear May is leading the country towards a chaotic Brexit, with no framework for future economic and security cooperation.
Introducing the document, Davis defended the government against charges it had offered MPs no time to consider its Brexit White Paper which, some said, gave little detail beyond what May has already said.
"We will seek a new strategic partnership. A bold and ambitious free trade and customs agreement that should ensure the most free and frictionless trade in goods and services that is possible," Davis told parliament.
"That will be to our mutual benefit."
He reiterated May's priorities in the negotiations, which she wants to launch before the end of March, and the paper offered some detail on how the British government saw the divorce process, suggesting a phased implementation.
But several opposition lawmakers said the government was still keeping parliament in the dark over its plan to leave the EU, a criticism which has been repeated against May who has said she does not want to give away her negotiating hand.
"For months we've been calling for a plan ... now there's a White Paper too late in the day to ask meaningful questions ... That is completely unacceptable," said Keir Starmer, Brexit spokesman for the opposition Labour Party.
Under pressure to give the parliament more say over her plans, May was forced by a Supreme Court ruling to draft a new law giving her the right to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty and start the talks.
With a majority in parliament, she cleared the first legislative hurdle for the bill on Wednesday but the new law will face more scrutiny by MPs next week.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Kylie MacLellan and William James; editing by Stephen Addison)
Pro-Europe MPs' efforts to temper Theresa May's Brexit plan gained traction on Sunday when a member of her own party broke ranks to criticize her strategy before parliamentary votes that will test her government's slim majority.
A three-day debate on a law giving May the right to trigger Britain's exit from the European Union begins on Monday, and will be followed by a series of votes on whether to attach extra conditions to her plan to start talks by March 31.
MPs voted overwhelmingly in favor of the principle of the new law last week, signaling May is unlikely to be blocked outright from triggering Brexit. But, she will need the support of her whole party to approve the strategy without change.
Sunday brought the first signs of internal Conservative Party dissent which, if they spread, could see the law amended, damaging May's authority domestically and potentially giving EU negotiators a powerful lever in the exit talks.
"We could be faced with the prospect of leaving the EU by 'falling off a cliff' – as some have described leaving with no deal – with potentially disastrous economic consequences," MP Neil Carmichael said on Sunday.
May has said parliament will be given a choice between accepting the deal she has reached with the EU, or rejecting it and leaving the bloc without any agreement on issues such as trade and immigration. But, MPs want to be given more influence.
"Parliament must have a final say when we get to the end-game," Carmichael wrote in the Mail on Sunday, arguing that MPs should be able to send May back to the negotiating table.
Carmichael is the most outspoken of a handful of critics within May's party who could join forces with opposition MPs from the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party to defeat the government.
May has a 16-seat working majority, but the actual number of rebels needed to inflict defeat could be higher depending on how smaller parties and pro-Brexit Labour MPs vote. One source said upwards of 20 Conservative votes might be needed to defeat her.
Pro-Brexit MPs were keen to head off the threat of a revolt.
"Any vote to amend this simple bill is a vote against the implementation of the referendum result," said Conservative Euroskeptic MP Steve Baker.
Baker said there were as many 27 rebels in waiting. A source familiar with the cross-party talks said that number was higher than their own estimates. So far only Carmichael and one other MP, Anna Soubry, have publicly suggested they might vote against the government.
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