Fighting fit

At a dinner in the Irish embassy in London last November, Dominic Raab believed he was on the brink of a Brexit breakthrough. In a meeting with Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Brexit secretary sought to find a compromise on the issue of the backstop. He explained that parliament would never agree an open-ended pledge in the way the EU envisaged: pushing things too far would end in the failure of talks. But Britain could make separate guarantees on the border, he said, leading to a ‘win, win’ for both sides. Coveney seemed interested, and suggested he would consider it.

Just days later, the idea was dropped by Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach. But why? Sitting in The Spectator’s office earlier this week, Raab tells the story — and he doesn’t blame anyone in Dublin. ‘I think there was a window of opportunity,’ he says. ‘The frustrating thing is that it was closed by our own side.’ Specifically, he suspects, by David Lidington, Theresa May’s de facto deputy, who held his own talks with the Irish and seemed to stop what No. 10 saw as Raab’s freelancing. ‘It wasn’t ruled out by Coveney, it was ruled out by Varadkar. The only thing that happened in between is that he met David Lidington. It’s clear what happened.’

Raab is now seeking to try again — and this time with himself in the driving seat. His leadership pitch? First, that a common-sense compromise along these lines is still possible. And, secondly, that a deal can only be achieved with a credible, well-funded and clearly outlined no-deal plan. ‘To those people saying: “Well, would you really do it?”, I resigned over it. So I think people can feel confident that I’ve got the courage of my convictions.’ An abrupt exit, he says, is not his ‘preferred option’ but if a deal can’t be done, it’s better than the alternative.