A no-deal Brexit would endanger the Union, one of Theresa May ’s most senior cabinet members has admitted.
David Lidington believes getting a good Brexit deal is vital to avoid the break-up of the UK.
In what was seen as warning shot to Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, both of whom have said no deal remains an option, Lidington said Brexit was putting the Union “under pressure”
He said: “The fact that in the 2016 Europe referendum two nations of the UK voted to leave, two nations voted to remain, inevitably makes this a very difficult, delicate process.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, he added: “I think that with good will and a good deal, those tensions can be handled, but I think that the risk of no deal is two-fold.
“I believe a no-deal outcome would do very serious harm to jobs, living standards and investment in the United Kingdom, and that is the consistent message I’ve been getting from businesses large and small.
“But also I think the pressures on the Union would be greater because I think that damage that a no-deal exit would cause, the very divisive nature of the politics of such an outcome, would give heart and opportunities to those who, particularly in Scotland and in Northern Ireland, would like to see the United Kingdom as it currently exists brought to an end.”
Lidington suggested the outcome of the Brexit negotiations would prove to be more significant than who succeeds Theresa May at Number 10 after polls showed that Johnson as PM would boost support for independence.
He said: “I think the strain to the Union is there. It’s not so much personalities elected as prime minister, but it’s what is the outcome of the EU exit negotiations.”
Lidington also lent his weight to former PM Sir John Major’s claim that it would be democratic disaster for a new prime minister to bypass Parliament to get a Brexit deal through, a Johnson has suggested.
Lidington said: “I actually think the chances of that happening are slim.
“I think that the precedent that would set, for perhaps a hard-left government of the future, would be very damaging.
“So I suspect whichever candidate wins as prime minister will fight shy of that – I would certainly do whatever I could to avoid such an outcome.”
