More Brexit charades

As we move towards the endgame, it seems there is more life in Maybot, as she showed yesterday by announcing a 3rd Way (copyright T. Blair 1996) for UK's Brexit related trade plans.

Ooh, what could that be?

Well, turns out that the people you would think should have been involved in this new policy's development and drafting had been until that moment, been unaware of its very existence. What did this all mean?

Well, BBC's Political editor, at the end of the day, dropped the bombshell in that the policy wasn't even written down yet. So, it did not actually exist, and that the policy was supposed to be signed off on Friday at the great Brexit sleepover at Chequers.

For this to fly, as it were, the policy would have to be properly thought out, its impact assessed and costed, and any technology required to make it work would have to exist now and be rolled out fully formed before the end of the year to ensure that it worked flawlessly. Of course, IT projects rolled out by successive Governments don't have a great track record.

Just when you thought this could not be more shambolic, may goes that extra mile.

And even if and when it is written down, it is likely to be a cobble together of the UK Government's "best bits" from previous suggestions, all of which the EU have already rejected. Yes, this is where we are.

And all the while, the ERG under the leadership of JRM, is threatening to bring down the Government if, in its opinion, May breaks any of what it considers Brexit red lines. So much for tying the Government's negotiating hand, but when its done for the perfect Brexit, that's OK. But in the last few months, the ERG and Brexiteers in general have talked a good fight, sometimes for weeks, but folded when push came to shove. And would they really bring the Government down, trigger an election and maybe let Corbyn into Number 10? Well, his vision of Brexit is harder than May's; stranger things have happened. And that's where we are now.

And over on the other side of the pond, a document was leaked showing that Trump is planning on withdrawing the US from the WTO thus triggering a global trade war. This may have been the idea of the mad tariff war he is waging against the EU and China already, but would this really be the time to leave the only trading block able to take on aggressive Trumpist policies, and instead throw our economy at his whims?

This is the Brexiteers grand plan of course. Madness on stilts.