Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday that the European Union was not like the Soviet Union after her foreign secretary provoked anger by likening the 28-member bloc to the USSR.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt cautioned the EU on Sunday that it was set up to protect freedoms but that the lesson from Soviet history was that if you turned it into a prison then the desire to leave would increase.
When asked about Hunt's comment, May said: "As I sit around that table in the European Union there are countries there who used to be part of the Soviet Union, they are now democratic countries and I can tell you that the two organisations are not the same."
Britain cannot be bullied, Brexit minister Dominic Raab said on Monday, sharpening the government's criticism of the European Union for taunting Prime Minister Theresa May and souring difficult Brexit talks.May's ministers have come out one by one at their party's annual conference in the city of Birmingham to warn the EU that they will embrace leaving without a deal if the bloc fails to show "respect" in the talks to end Britain's membership.Just six months before Britain is due to leave the EU in the country's biggest shift in foreign and trade policy in more than 40 years, May faces growing criticism over her plans to leave not only in her governing party but also in Brussels.Party unity is on ministers' minds, encouraging the faithful to direct their anger at the EU rather than at their prime minister, who some eurosceptic campaigners accuse of leading Britain towards a "Brexit in name only".Britain's FTSE treads water, eyes on Tory conferenceOther ministers, such as finance minister Philip Hammond, have moved to point out that leaving without a deal could hurt Britain's economy, the world's fifth largest.Raab said he had called on the EU to match the "ambition and pragmatism" Britain had put forward with May's Chequers proposals, named after her country residence where an agreement with her ministers was hashed out in July."Unfortunately, that wasn't on display in Salzburg," he said, describing a summit last month in the Austrian city where EU leaders rejected parts of the Chequers plan."Our prime minister has been constructive and respectful. In return we heard jibes from senior leaders and we saw a starkly one-sided approach to negotiation."Sterling rises despite fears of Tory Brexit conflict"What is unthinkable is that this government, or any British government, could be bullied by the threat of some kind of economic embargo, into signing a one-sided deal against our country's interests," Raab said.Instead of the much-hoped-for staging post, the Salzburg summit has become a byword for a sharp deterioration in the atmosphere of the talks, when British government officials felt May was ambushed by the other EU leaders over Brexit.A tweet by European Council President Donald Tusk showing him offering May a selection of cakes with the comment: "A piece of cake, perhaps? Sorry, no cherries" "certainly had an impact", one official said."GET SERIOUS"With no divorce deal and a standoff over the shape of any future relationship, the possibility of a "no deal Brexit" has increased, with some businesses preparing for what they see as a worst case scenario.Britain's Hammond says UK can cope with no-deal BrexitBut one source close to the government said there was now a sense that the EU had realised that the tone set in Salzburg was "perhaps a bit off" and, behind the scenes, conservations between the two sides were more constructive.Hammond, for one, was keen to set a more positive tone."The mood is undoubtedly that people want to do a deal with the UK," he told BBC TV."Clearly there has been a hit to the economy through the uncertainty the Brexit process has caused. Many businesses are sitting on their hands frankly waiting to see what the outcome of this negotiation is before confirming investment plans."UK's Hammond says EU is in the mood for a Brexit dealBut his softer line won less support at the conference than those adopted by Raab, trade minister Liam Fox and foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, who on Sunday compared the EU with the Soviet Union which could turn into a prison from which not only Britain would want to escape.It was Raab, winning a standing ovation for his story about his father's journey from then Czechoslovakia after the Nazi invasion, who summed up Britain's new combative stance."The EU's theological approach allows no room for serious compromise," he said. "If the EU want a deal, they need to get serious."
'Don't bully us', Britain takes new combative tone to Brexit talks
British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Monday the United Kingdom had the fiscal capacity to cope with leaving the European Union without any agreement but believed the mood in Brussels was to reach a divorce deal.Britain's exit from the European Union next March has increased uncertainty for employers, with talks about the future relationship between the world's fifth largest economy and its largest trading partner becoming increasingly fraught."I'm clear that we will have the fiscal capacity to support the British economy if we were unfortunately to find ourselves in a no-deal situation," he told Sky News.However, Hammond said the doubts about the future had already hit the economy and the next few weeks would be crucial in securing an agreement with the EU."The mood is undoubtedly that people want to do a deal with the UK. People want to minimise the disruption of the UK's departure from the European Union, they want to continue having a relationship with us and smooth trading partnership in the future," he told BBC TV."Clearly there has been a hit to the economy through the uncertainty the Brexit process has caused. Many businesses are sitting on their hands frankly waiting to see what the outcome of this negotiation is before confirming their investment plans."Reassuring businesses they remain at the heart of the centre-right Conservatives Party's plan for the economy will be the focus of Hammond's speech to his party's conference on Monday.The business community has expressed frustration over the government's lack of clarity during the Brexit process and what some see as a decision to put ideology before the economy."We back business, as the cornerstone of a successful economy, as a force for good in our society, and as an essential expression of our values," Hammond will say in his speech to the Conservative Party's annual conference in Birmingham.The British Chambers of Commerce said it wanted the Conservatives to overcome their internal divisions and "to deliver real-world, practical answers to business’s ongoing questions around Brexit – and avoid a messy and disorderly exit from the EU."Foul LanguageRelations suffered earlier this year when then-foreign minister Boris Johnson was quoted dismissing business leaders' concerns about Brexit, using foul language, in a meeting with EU diplomats.Johnson, the bookmakers' favourite to succeed May, has become a cheerleader for hardline Brexit supporters in the Conservative Party who have denounced her so-called "Chequers" proposals and has put forward his own plans for an alternative free trade deal.Hammond said Johnson's idea was not on offer from the EU."What Chequers does is offer an in-the-middle solution, down the centre, taking the best from both models, and proposing a way forward which delivers on the mandate of the British people in the referendum but also protects British jobs and British businesses," he told Sky News.Last week, Britain's opposition Labour Party sought to woo business bosses even as it unveiled a raft of radical economic policies, saying the Conservatives had given them the opportunity to pitch an alternative leftist strategy.Despite Brexit dominating political discussions, polls suggest it lags behind the state-run National Health Service as Britons' greatest concern and Hammond said people would have to pay more in tax to fund extra investment."The prime minister was very clear and very honest with the public that if we want in the future a growing NHS to support our ageing population of course we'll have to accept a little more tax to fund that service," he said.
Britain's Hammond says UK can cope with no-deal Brexit