The latest strange skirmish in the never-ending Brexit wars

The mere suggestion of a Swiss-style deal has mobilised Conservative Eurosceptics, writes Sean O’Grady

It is almost plausible that whoever initially briefed The Sunday Times about the potential for a Swiss-style deal did it ‘for the lols’ (Getty)

The suggestion that the UK might revisit the Brexit agreement – to do some sectoral deals with the EU so as to cut down on checks – is pragmatic, but in today’s Conservative party, is also incendiary stuff.

It would certainly help exporters, businesses that rely on European supply chains, ease the tensions abound the Northern Ireland protocol and generally boost the UK’s dismal economic growth. It would, though, also mean free movement of labour, some alignment in regulations, and the European Court of Justice presiding over it – at least in part.

However, the very whiff of a hint of a vague proposal that might be tentatively explored was sufficient to give the Conservative Eurosceptics a fit of the vapours. The sight of these parliamentarians clutching their pearls in fear and anguish at the prospect of their precious, perfect Brexit being interfered with was positively comical.

The European Research Group, which was never European, didn’t do much research and was so undisciplined it seldom worked as a faction, held an emergency meeting. They threatened to go “berserk”. The health secretary, Steve Barclay, also a former Brexit secretary and a bit of a hardliner, said he didn’t recognise the plan and was against it. Others queued up to condemn whatever this Swiss-style abomination might be: Chloe Smith, again on the backbenches after a very short stint in cabinet; Lord (David) Frost and Simon Clarke, deprived and dispossessed of office respectively under Rishi Sunak, also made threatening noises.

It is almost plausible that whoever initially briefed The Sunday Times about the potential for a Swiss-style deal did it “for the lols”, as the modern expression goes. If it was a wind-up, it certainly succeeded. If it was an exercise in “floating” a slightly outlandish policy to gauge the level of opposition, then it was also mission accomplished. During his speech to the CBI, which is openly calling for more migration to cure the labour shortage, the prime minister had little choice but to knock the Swiss plan on its head (not least given the precarious hold Sunak has on the right of his party). There would be no “alignment” of laws, which leaves a little room for manoeuvre on the Northern Ireland protocol, but not much.

This slightly odd little skirmish in the never-ending Brexit wars was actually opened up a few days before by a remark the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, made in interviews after his autumn statement. In a mood of candour rare in this administration, Hunt acknowledged the damage done to trade by Brexit and declared that he had “great confidence that over the years ahead we will find outside the single market we are able to remove the vast majority of the trade barriers that exist between us and the EU. It will take time.”

Technically the UK could remain outside the EU, and outside the single market, even if it concluded some bilateral deals in certain sectors of the economy. It would boost and help keep taxes lower than they otherwise would be, and this is perhaps what Hunt still has in mind. But it is also politically impossible for the time being, even if someone, quite possibly in the Treasury, enjoyed some lols along the way.