Brexit
Boris Johnson to host Downing Street party to celebrate Brexit
Ministers and advisers will toast departure with English wine and British-sourced food
by Rajeev Syal, Kate Proctor, Peter WalkerBoris Johnson will host a party in No 10 for cabinet ministers and pro-Brexit advisers at which guests will toast the UK’s departure from the EU with British-sourced food washed down with English sparkling wine.
Canapés will include savoury shortbread topped with Shropshire blue cheese, filet of lamb, a ploughman’s of cheddar and pickle, roast chicken skewers – probably not chlorinated – and roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with a horseradish sauce.
Downing Street officials have been keen to ensure there is little triumphalism amid enthusiastic celebrations from a core of leavers.
Johnson met his cabinet in the pro-Brexit town of Sunderland on Friday morning.
At 10pm, he is scheduled to deliver a televised address to the country calling Brexit not an end but a beginning and will describe it as “a moment of real national renewal and change”.
“This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act,” Johnson will say, according to snippets released in advance by Downing Street. “This is the dawn of a new era in which we no longer accept that your life chances – your family’s life chances – should depend on which part of the country you grow up in.”
It is not yet clear whether former prime minister Theresa May will be invited to the No 10 party, which will begin at 9pm.
Downing Street itself will be illuminated by a red and blue light show, along with the Treasury, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Justice, HMRC, and the Cabinet Office, plus the offices of Scotland and Wales.
The Northern Ireland office, possibly due to community sensitivities over the colours of the union jack, has not been included. A digital clock will also appear in Downing Street to count down the final hour of the UK’s EU membership.
No 10 has admitted trade with the European Union will not be “frictionless” after Brexit. “You can only have fully frictionless [trade] if you accept all their rules. We have been clear that we will not be doing so, the prime minister’s spokesman said.
This will not affect travellers or businesses on Friday but is expected to be introduced next January.
In another sign of Downing Street’s desire to keep control of the narrative, Johnson’s message has been filmed by an in-house TV crew rather than the BBC or another TV station for pooled footage. No 10 said the message would be made available to all those who wanted it.
Friday night will bring very little in the way of tangible change, as the UK will move straight into a transition period involving continued EU rules to the end of 2020.
On Thursday, Downing Street reiterated the message that UK firms would then face extra paperwork and checks on goods at cross-channel borders under Johnson’s plans to diverge from EU standards.
This will be seen as a significant starting point for trade talks with the EU, which has consistently demanded alignment on regulations in exchange for zero tariffs and quotas – a so-called “level playing field”.
Johnson is due to make a speech early next week setting out plans for future trade arrangements.
UK nationals are being advised to expect new arrangements for travelling to the EU next year. A page of official government advice says people taking pets should start planning four months in advance, while drivers will need insurance documentation, and mobile phone roaming charges could return.
One change that is definitely happening on Friday night is the disappearance of the Department for Exiting the European Union. Its offices inside the Cabinet Office will be vacated and civil servants moved to other departments after a final visit of thanks from Johnson.
Steve Barclay, the Brexit secretary, will become a backbench MP – at least until an imminent reshuffle – and will be eligible for a payoff.
He will be invited to the party, the prime minister’s spokesman confirmed. “He is still a cabinet minister at 9pm,” he said.