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David Davis: MPs must drive a stake through the heart of May’s Brexit deal

The former Brexit secretary used a magazine interview to also play down the impact of a no-deal exit saying it was ‘not a bad thing’ if Sterling fell.

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David Davis

David Davis has called on MPs to vote down Theresa May’s Brexit deal and “make sure the stake goes through its heart and it gets buried at the crossroads” so it cannot be resurrected.

The former Brexit secretary echoed other Leave-supporting MPs in saying the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement was worse than staying in the EU, adding “neither is a good option”.

In a wide-ranging interview with The House magazine he also played down the risks from no-deal Brexit on the pound, saying it was “not a bad thing” if Sterling took a hit.

He also warned Brexiteer MPs would conduct a “parliamentary guerilla war” against any attempts to engineer a second EU referendum.

Mr Davis told the magazine Mrs May’s deal was “no good at any level” and she should not be allowed to bring it back again if, as widely expected, she loses the December 11 meaningful vote.

He said: “She’ll look at the size of the rebellion. She’ll also look at what’s said by key players and try to segment it to see whether or not there’s a coalition she can build to still deliver something like what she’s got.

“So, the first thing is to stop that happening.

“This deal is no good at any level. It’s no good in terms of sovereignty, it’s no good in terms of economic future, it’s no good in terms of upsides.

“We’ve got to make sure that this doesn’t come back. We’ve got to make sure the stake goes through its heart and it gets buried at the crossroads.”

Mr Davis repeated his support for a “Canada+++” that he believes can be negotiated with Brussels before March 29.

But he also hit out at the “conventional wisdom” that the UK had the most to lose from a no-deal Brexit.

He told the magazine: “Firstly, we’ve got a floating pound… it won’t go into freefall.

“The first thing that will happen is it will go about five, 10 points down further from the 15 it already is.

“So, we’ll end up 20 or 25 below what it was before the referendum. That’s not a bad thing.

“The pound’s always been too high from the point of view of industry because of the effect of the City.

“So, our competitive position with vis-a-vis Europe would be dramatically better even if there are tariffs.”

He also played up the chances of the UK doing a trade deal with the US quickly, saying: “The Americans are setting the legislative process in train in order to be able to negotiate with us and the EU and Japan – three separate strands – starting in March.

“I tell you this now, it’s plain as a pikestaff to me in Washington that we would be the first choice to get on with it in March. So, it will be a very fast negotiation starting very soon.”

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