Alex Salmond has claimed the UK could struggle to secure a good Brexit deal because EU negotiators will believe they have the upper hand on Theresa May’s “weak and wobbly” government.
Speaking in his exclusive Press and Journal video blog, Mr Salmond said the talks were unlikely to be an “entente cordiale” between the two sides because the EU “knows they’ve got the UK over a barrel”.
“Rather than a strong and stable government in the UK, we’ve got a weak and wobbly government with a tiny majority and no clear direction on what it’s going to try and achieve,” he said.
The former First Minister’s intervention comes just one day after talks officially began, with Brexit minister David Davis already coming under fire for conceding to the EU’s negotiation timetable despite earlier vowing to make the issue “the row of the summer”.
Mr Salmond said that while people had been focusing on descriptions over how Brexit should look or the extent of the UK’s withdrawal from common agreements, they had ignored that there is “probably not a majority in the House of Commons for any one kind of Brexit”.
He said the UK’s position was “not a recipe for success” and could leave opposition parties alienated from the process as the government moves towards an “obsessional” withdrawal.
A number of party leaders, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, have called for a cross-party Brexit group to ensure a wider range of opinions are put forward during the process but this request has so far been largely ignored by the Prime Minister.
Mr Salmond added: “The bottom line is the Prime Minister gambled on getting a big majority in an election and she failed. She’s still hanging about with no apparent purpose and has sent in David Davis to try and redeem the process. But it may well be that this process is irredeemable.”
Speaking yesterday, Mr Davis rebutted criticisms and said the first day of talks with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier had gone well.
“I’ve been encouraged by the constructive approach that both sides have taken,” he said. “We have laid a solid foundation for future discussions, with an ambitious but eminently achievable timetable.
“It was clear from the opening that both of us want to achieve the best possible outcome and the strongest possible partnership – one that works for the UK and for the EU.”
When asked why he had capitulated to EU demands, Davis replied that: “It’s not when it starts. It’s how it’s concluded that matters.”
“The position we have agreed today is completely consistent with our long-term position.”