More reality and more denials

Another Brexit blog.

On Sunday, the chairman of the CBI, Confederation of British Industry, explained on one of the weekend politics shows why it wants Britain to stay in the Single Market. Later, Liz Truss refuted that saying he exciting new opportunities that Brexit would offer would outweigh the disadvantages, and said so with much more passion that she showed in her time as Lord Chancellor when the press were describing High Court Judges as enemies of the people. Imagine, telling the organisation representing British businesses what it should thing? And anyway this should be news to Truss or any Government Ministers as surely they had been in constant engagement with Business to get its feedback and experience on what would be best for them and the country. That would show up in the sector analysis, but, oh year, DD was supposed to have had that covered.

So, Truss says the Government will press ahead with Brexit that business does not want, a Brexit that wasn't on the referendum, which was only advisory, and which no impact analysis has been done, and they are not for changing, even if there isn't a plan and the Cabinet themselves can't agree on Brexit either.

And since M. Macron's vague words about special deal, what has been ignored by his following that up with the same line that the whole EU has been saying for 18 months or more, that there will be no cherry picking, especially when it comes to the four freedoms. Hope springs eternal, but this really is believing in unicorn stuff.

But always bear in mind that the Good Friday Agreement, GFA, demands that there should be no border between NI and Eire, and that as that border will be the only land border between UK and the EU27, that in order for the no border to happen, it has to be done in a way that not only satisfies EU rules, but must also satisfy WTO rules. And that applied to trade going both ways, as any trade that UK offers to EU it would have to do so to all other members of the WTO, so a deal and agreement is needed. And that the fallback position is that in the event of no deal being reached, UK would have complete regulatory alignment with EU rules. The EU is now putting the December agreement into legal speak, and UK will have to sign, this will be unacceptable to the hardcore Brexiteers, like the ESG and DUP, who both still want cake and eating cake, even though it is clearly impossible.

Boris also rejects calls to stay in the CU because the PM said so in Florence, and also adds that staying in CU would mean staying in the EU, not quite true, but that it would mean it would be impossible to strike independent trade deals, or of the sort Boris thinks we should be, though again he doesn't say what those deals should be or who with, but clearly he is a big fan of the US of A. So remember the tale of chlorinated chicken and how this accepting this from the US would mean the EU putting up shutters, of creating more EU red tape that you could ever think possible, and the same goes for any goods. He also says staying in the CU would mean Britain could not play a leading role in the WTO, but no one really knows what he means, other than he thinks this is just a jolly jape.

Thankfully, the internet never forgets and allows us to remind JRM that he supported a 2nd referendum back in 2011 to pass any deal that the UK might have from the EU. He is also saying that Government Policy to leave the SM and it is the job of the ESG to ensure that Government Policy is acted upon. See, May is not really negotiating with the EU, but with her own Government and party, and in the end will have to accept whatever crumbs the EU throws us. But then is still refusing to accept reality in releasing its own legal team's assessment on whether Britain could unilaterally revoke A50. Saying that as its not going to happen then there is no point in discussing it, but also is using this as an argument that will force Parliament into a Hobson's Choice on the final deal. Unless, of course, Parliament tells the PM, whoever that may be at the time, to revoke A50. As it can.