The most revered Archibishop of Canturbury, Justin Welby said that PM Theresa May should form a cross-party commission, stating that Brexit would be a “disaster if our negotiators go into the room without confidence in their backing within UK.”
The idea of convening a broad-based group gained momentum after Mrs May's general election failure to secure a clear majority, and Rev Welby reiterated the idea when he told The Mail: “We must develop some political tool which can hold the ring for the differences to be fought out. The future of this country is not a zero-sum, winner-takes-all calculation... it would need to be cross-party and chaired by a senior politician, on privy council terms. It could not bind parliament, but it could draw much of the poison from the debate.”
Other leaders have repeated the idea, when Brexit Secretary, David Davis told his colleagues he wants his shadow Sir Keir Starmer, appointed to the privy council so he can be briefed on confidential and sensitive elements of the talks. Foreign secretary, Lord Hague also urged the government to call in the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Institute of Directors, the TUC, and the leaders of all the opposition parties to form a cross-party group on Brexit.
