PRITI Patel, the international development secretary, has flatly rejected calls for other political parties to become involved in the Brexit talks, saying their role was now to support the UK Government.
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has joined leaders of political parties, following the General Election result, to call for a cross-party commission to ensure the voices of the UK’s nations and regions are fully engaged as the negotiations on Britain’s withdrawal from the European union get underway.
Mr Welby said a cross-party approach to Brexit talks would "draw much of the poison from the debate".
The Anglican leader contrasted the inspiring "spirit of Grenfell" with the divisive "zero-sum, winner takes all" Brexit rows in Westminster.
Writing in The Mail On Sunday, he said: "We need the politicians to find a way of neutralising the temptation to take minor advantage domestically from these great events.
"We must develop a forum, or commission, or some political tool, which can hold the ring for the differences to be fought out, so that a commonly agreed negotiating aim is achieved.
"The future of this country is not a zero-sum, winner takes all calculation but must rest on the reconciled common good arrived at through good debate and disagreement," added the archbishop.
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, has said that a humbled Tory government must now accept the public’s rejection of their hard Brexit plans and fully engage with the devolved administrations if they want to seek a UK-wide approach.
The Highland MP said: "One year on from their disastrous referendum Theresa May cannot escape the new reality of Brexit - there is no mandate and there is no majority support. If she is serious about seeking a UK wide approach then the question of involving the devolved governments across the UK in the negotiating process is not a question of if, but when.”
Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrats’ chief whip, said a Commons bid to keep Britain in the single market should be backed by "like-minded" Tory and Labour MPs,
He is now in talks with MPs from other parties to get them to support in Thursday’s Commons vote a Lib Dem amendment to the Queen's Speech intended to force the Government to modify its Brexit plans.
However, faced with calls for a cross-party approach, Ms Patel rejected them.
She told BBC Radio Five's Pienaar's Politics: "The point is, this isn't about commissions. The public voted last year to leave the European Union. Our job as Government now is obviously securing the right deal for the country and not re-running those arguments of Remain and Leave from last year."
Asked what the role of Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon should be now, Ms Patel replied: “Their role should be in supporting the Government…through these negotiations and also supporting these 12 negotiating objectives as well when it comes to controlling our laws, strengthening the Union, looking to control immigration, securing the rights of EU nationals in the Britain and British nationals in the EU as well and protecting workers rights.
“We have set out our negotiating objectives. These are not objectives that should be fought across in the United Kingdom as if we are having a re-run of the referendum last year,” insisted the secretary of state.
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