Corbyn and May hold ‘constructive’ Brexit talks

The opposition Labour Party yesterday said it had constructive discussions with Prime Minister Theresa May on breaking the Brexit deadlock.“We have had constructive exploratory discussions about how to break the Brexit deadlock,” a Labour Party spokesman said. “We have agreed a programme of work between our teams to explore the scope for agreement.” Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn met May along with Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer, the party’s business spokeswoman Rebecca Long-Bailey and Labour chief whip Nick Brown.May’s de-facto deputy David Lidington also attended along with Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Conservative chief whip Julian Smith.Meanwhile, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned Britain still faces an “alarmingly high” risk of a no-deal Brexit, which could happen suddenly and by accident without politicians fully intending it.The idea, promoted by some Brexit supporters, that Britain could effectively trade on World Trade Organisation terms with zero tariffs after a no-deal Brexit was “absolute nonsense”, Carney added in the interview with broadcaster Sky News.Carney said that as long ago as August last year, he had described the chance of Britain leaving the European Union without any transition deal as uncomfortably high.“It’s alarmingly high now,” he said.Prime Minister Theresa May said late on Tuesday that she intended to seek a further delay to Brexit. But unless EU leaders agree unanimously at a meeting next week, Britain will automatically leave the bloc on April 12.“The government...is against no deal, the European Union is against no deal, and yet it is a possibility. It is the default option,” he said.“So no-deal would happen by accident, it would happen suddenly, there would be no transition — it is an accidental disorderly Brexit.”Carney told parliament last month that a disorderly Brexit could reduce British economic output by around 5% — almost as much as it fell after the 2008 financial crisis.Yesterday he reiterated that Britain’s financial sector was well-prepared for a disorderly Brexit, but that other parts of the economy, especially exporters, would suffer.Carney is due to step down from the BoE at the end of January 2020, having extended his term to cover Britain’s departure from the EU.Asked if he would consider a further extension, he said: “Absolutely no.”Meanwhile junior Brexit minister Chris Heaton-Harris became the second government member to resign yesterday after Prime Minister Theresa May said she would ask to delay Brexit again.Heaton-Harris said in a letter to May that he would have wanted Britain to leave the European Union on the scheduled departure date of March 29, adding: “I simply cannot support any further extension.” Heaton-Harris, who was responsible for no-deal Brexit preparations, said Britain “would have swiftly overcome any immediate issues of leaving without a deal and gone on to thrive”. He said May’s announcement showed she did not want to leave the EU without a negotiated deal.“That obviously makes my job in government irrelevant,” he said.