Liam Fox is demanding the right to bypass the Scottish and Welsh governments when striking free trade agreements after Brexit.
The trade secretary has written to cabinet ministers suggesting that they deny devolved administrations the ability to veto deals, even if they allow in more genetically modified products, despite the bans on GM crops in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Dr Fox is also suggesting that the devolved administrations should not sit on the new board of trade that Theresa May has decided to reform. This is likely to be opposed by colleagues who fear it signals that the government is unwilling even to consult on trade.
In his letter, Dr Fox set out four options for negotiating trade deals, from agreeing a common position with the devolved governments to ignoring them and declaring trade a reserved matter for the British government. Dr Fox is understood to favour options that do not give the devolved administrations a veto.
The move has split the cabinet, which received Dr Fox's letter in the past week. David Mundell, the Scottish secretary, Alun Cairns, the Welsh secretary, and James Brokenshire, the Northern Ireland secretary are said to have rejected Dr Fox's proposals. They are worried that it will further undermine the devolution settlement, strengthen the nationalists in Scotland and destabilise the situation further in Northern Ireland, where the devolved administration remains suspended.
However, Dr Fox is understood to have the backing of senior members of the cabinet amid fears that the SNP will deliberately scupper trade deals if given the chance. A government source told The Times: ”Liam is pushing to ensure that trade deals remain a reserve power for the UK and the letter went into ministerial boxes in the last week. The secretaries of state for devolved institutions are very, very keen to keep the devolved administrations on board and work together in a collaborative way. We can see a situation where the Scottish government is not going to allow trade deals to work."
