A leading German politician has warned Theresa May that she is “delusional” if she believes Britain can get a good trade deal from Donald Trump.
Axel Schafer, a senior member of chancellor Angela Merkel’s Social Democrat coalition partner, said the PM’s hope that president-elect Trump will look favourably on the UK will come to nothing.
Referring to the shock election of Trump, Schafer told The Times: “What changed is the likelihood of a speedy and preferential trade deal between UK and US.
“Even before Tuesday the chances were rather low, now the hope for this kind of deal seems delusional.”
The pointed remarks came after ministers talked up the chances of a close working relationship with the surprise winner of the race to the White House.
European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, who said: “I think that we’ll waste time for two years while Mr Trump tours a world that he is completely unaware of.
“We have to teach the new president of the USA what Europe is, and how it works.
The trans-Atlantic alliance, and the Nato alliance, is called into question, so it could be quite pernicious.
“With regards to refugees and other non-Americans, Trump has an approach which in no way coincides with the approach in Europe.”
The comments came as Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said his party would vote against triggering Article 50, which formally launches withdrawal negotiations with the EU, unless there was a guarantee that the final Brexit deal with Brussels is put to a fresh referendum.
He insisted he respected the decision made by voters in favour of leaving the EU but said nobody should have a deal “imposed” upon them.
Although the Lib Dems only have eight MPs they have more than 100 peers in the Lords, which could spell trouble for the Government if judges rule that a full Act of Parliament is required before Article 50 can be triggered, as the legislation would have to clear both Houses.
MPs from other parties — including a Labour frontbencher — have indicated they would be prepared to oppose Article 50.
The government is challenging a high court ruling that parliament must have the final say on triggering Article 50 with a hearing in the supreme court next month, arguing that prerogative powers could be used.
A government spokeswoman said: “Our position is clear: the country voted to leave the EU and we will respect the will of the British people.
“The government told the high court that as a matter of firm policy, once given, the Article 50 notice would not be withdrawn.
Because legal proceedings are under way it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
Boris Johnson has snubbed an emergency EU foreign ministers’ meeting called to discuss Donald Trump’s shock US election victory.
The move highlights the widening gulf between London and the continent over how to respond to the new US president-elect.
Foreign secretary Johnson, who branded vocal European concern about the US election result as a “whinge-o-rama”, was dismissive of the need for a special EU meeting.
A foreign office spokesman said: “The foreign aecretary will not attend the meeting convened for Sunday.
There is a regular foreign affairs council meeting on Monday where a range of issues can be discussed in the normal way.
“We do not see the need for an additional meeting on Sunday because the US election timetable is long established.
“An act of democracy has taken place, there is a transition period and we will work with the current and future administrations to ensure the best outcomes for Britain.”
In further signs of tensions between the UK and EU, Czech state secretary for European affairs Tomas Prouza warned plans floated at the Tory conference to make companies list foreign workers were “stoking the fires” of anti-immigrant feeling in the UK.
Prouza said the idea was similar to ones seen during the rise of fascism in the 1930s.
He called on May to “condemn these ideas” as he noted there had been an “enormous” rise in attacks on Czechs in Britain since the June vote to quit the EU.
“I think the performance at the Conservative Party conference was again stoking the fires.
“When you had all these ideas of British companies that would have to report the number of foreigners they employ, maybe even the names of the foreigners they employ, that is very similar to what we have seen on the continent in the 1930s.
“I think we all remember what it led to.
So I think we see it as very dangerous, and I was really hoping that prime minister May would condemn these ideas very quickly and it’s not happened.
So that is a worry.
“At the moment we need to support the security of Czechs.
We’ve seen an enormous increase in attacks on Czechs and other foreigners on British soil,” he told BBC Radio Four’s Analysis programme.
The suggestion by home secretary Amber Rudd that companies should count foreign workers was roundly condemned, forcing the government to state it would not mean that individual non-British staff would be listed.




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