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Boris Johnson set out his six-point Brexit plan just days before the Conservative Party gathers for its annual conference that could set the scene for a leadership bid.
Writing for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, the former foreign secretary and the informal leader of the pro-Brexit Tory wing, warned that Prime Minister Theresa May's own vision for Brexit cheated the electorate and represented a “collective failure of government.”
Earlier this week May dismissed the Canada-style free trade agreement that so-called Brexiteers favor because it would require Northern Ireland to be split off from the rest of the U.K. She said she'd rather walk away from talks without a deal than accept that more limited option.
But in a 4,600-word essay, Johnson argued a “super” Canada-style free trade deal wouldn't necessarily lead to a hard border between the two countries. He said the U.K. should negotiate the deal during a 21-month transition period and use technology to avoid a hard border.
While Johnson held back from any direct criticism of May, he used strong language to condemn the government's handling of the Brexit talks, specifically accusing the Treasury of weakening the U.K.'s negotiating hand by pushing for a softer Brexit.
“We have the chance to get it right, and I am afraid that future generations will not lightly forgive us if we fail,” he ended his article.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Robert Jameson
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