Cabinet united on 'pragmatic' Brexit transition period, Gove says

The cabinet is committed to taking a “pragmatic approach” to free movement in the post-Brexit transition period, environment minister Michael Gove said on Friday, bowing to pressure from the business community and after a new round of talks with European Union negotiators this week.

A transition offer would allow EU citizens free movement to Britain for up to two years after leaving the bloc, according to some sources, or four years according to others.

Gove, a strong advocate for leaving the EU and one of the figureheads of last year's Leave campaign, said that the importance of avoiding a ‘cliff edge’ had been stressed upon the government by representatives of many sectors.

The MP for Surrey Heath, when speaking on businesses demands to continued labour access and economic stability, said the matters raised were something, “around which the government and the cabinet is united”.

When asked whether free movement of people should also continue during that period, Gove said the decision should be a “shared pragmatic judgement, about what we need in the best interests of our economy and guaranteeing a smooth exit from the European Union, in line with the result that the British people voted for just over a year ago.”

Brexit supporters have signalled their comfort with an offer that allows EU citizens freedom of movement for as much as two years after leaving the union, but refusing to put a timeframe on how long this transitional period may last, Gove stated that whatever the decision reached is, it needed to recognise “the instruction the British people gave us last June.”

Berwick-upon-Tweed MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan told BBC radio: “Any implementation programme which we have to roll through absolutely needs to match the business needs, so that we don’t have cliff edges. There are skills gaps across the country which we have to crack before we can be absolutely rigorous.

“Numbers will start to reduce as we fix our skills gap and we work out with businesses what it is they need. Nobody wants to see a system where, if you can’t find agricultural workers to pick your strawberries, you allow that business to fail. That is not the solution.”

Minister’s moods have shifted significantly over the last few weeks and now hope to agree to an “off-the-shelf” transition model in an effort to give certainty to British business according to a senior cabinet source at the Guardian.

Brexit secretary David Davis told a House of Lords select committee that “practicalities” required a transition period take place, and both business secretary Greg Clark, and chancellor, Phillip Hammond have long been supporters of a softer Brexit.

One of the “off-the-shelf” models available to the UK during the transition period is European Economic Area membership, sometimes known as the Norwegian model, which allows single-market access and exemption from some EU laws and regulations, however members pay budget contributions and must accept free movement.

Alternatively, Britain could apply for European Free Trade Association membership, something Bill Cash, a leading Brexiteer had previously suggested, which means access for some but not all areas of trade would be granted and would be bound by no EU laws apart from minor trade regulation, although free movement still applies.