Jacob Rees-Mogg: Divide in customs post-Brexit 'impossible'
Any divide in the customs regimes governing Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK after Brexit would be completely impossible, Jacob Rees-Mogg has said.
The prominent Brexiteer was speaking at an event as part of the Conservative party conference in Birmingham. "No Conservative would do anything to harm the union and that crucially includes Northern Ireland," he said. The Irish border has emerged as a major issue in the Brexit negotiations. Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to leave the EU's customs union and single market but at the same time has promised no hardening of the border. That means no new physical infrastructure and no new checks or controls for customs or product standards. Her solution is the Chequers Plan, with its "combined customs territory" and "continued harmonisation" with EU rules on goods and agriculture. The European Research Group (ERG), which is chaired by Jacob Rees-Mogg, backs a "clean-break Brexit". The ERG says this plan avoids the need to follow all those EU rules. It has called for streamlined customs checks and closer working between Belfast and Dublin to allay compliance and smuggling fears. The ERG believes that a hard border can be avoided by using "established" technology and "modifying" existing arrangements. Mr Rees-Mogg believes a "clean-break Brexit" provides a solution for the Irish border "in a way that any reasonable person would think meets the requirements of the European Union's concerns over the single market". Speaking at a fringe event as part of Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Sunday night Mr Rees-Mogg said: "My country is the United Kingdom and this is not to do with the DUP supporting the Conservatives. 'As much a part of my country as Somerset' "This is how do I feel and how do most Conservatives feel their country is, how do they define it?" "We are the Conservative and Unionist party, no Conservative would do anything to harm the union and that crucially includes Northern Ireland. "It's as much a part of my country as Somerset and I can't say anything more than that because Somerset is the centre of the universe in any sensible appraisal," he added. Speaking on Monday morning the Chancellor Philip Hammond said negotiations on the post-Brexit border were very complex and it was right to discuss the details with the EU.