Brexit reality update

A month after the election, and there are signs of sensible policies from Labour on the EU.

There are talks and talks of a closer relationshipe especially in defence matters.

It is a start.

There is no chance of rejoining the SM or CU, which will upset many Remainers, but again the reality is, the EU wouldn't let us rejoin the EU or either the SM or CU. There would have to be a major shift across the main parties, so not to fact a 180 degree policy change come the next election.

Every bit of realism brings banner headlines from the Epress about Brexit being betrayed.

Brexit never was an event, it was always going to be, and so is, a process.

A process that will only end when the UK rejoins.

Each month the UK does nothing, EU regulations across a huge spectrum of subjects, goods and services change or udated, meaning divergance is happening any way, the question for the next five years is how to deal with that. As with each divergance, that could bring in new checks, compliance and paperwork.

Always with the paperwork.

Here is a tale about bottle tops.

Simple plastic bottle tops, and this will tell us about how divergance is an illusion, or an expensive folly.

As Chris Grey says in his current weekly blog:

"Even under the Tories, it was de facto accepted that the possibilities for regulatory divergence were very limited in a practical sense, which Is why they identified so few, and pursued even fewer. Moreover, as the recent example of ‘tethered plastic bottle caps’ has illustrated, to the bemusement of Brexiters like poor old Isabel Oakeshott (£), whatever the UK government may do, UK businesses will often decide to follow new EU regulations.

That’s for the fairly obvious reason that it is cheaper to produce to only one standard, especially if it is that of the larger market, but, in any case, to produce to the standard which is required by one market and is acceptable in the other market (i.e. in this case, tethered plastic bottle caps are now legally required for sale in the EU and acceptable, although not legally required, in Great Britain). Moreover, there is an additional incentive for UK manufacturers, specifically, to produce goods to a standard which will be acceptable in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland, where EU rules apply anyway (an early example being that of baby food manufacture)." https://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2024/08/proustian-moments-at-le-cafe-brexit.html

It is cheaper to follow EU regulations and apply them to goods for there and the UK than to have two separate lines.

This is for something simple like bottle tops, imagine something like electric cars.

Oh yes, electric cars.

There is a thing called rules of origin, and for completed goods to be be consdered made in Britain or made in UK, then a percentage, 55% for electric cars, need to be manufactired there. And rules of origin would have to be shown and how complied with at borders if companies are to continue to export to the EU.

The EU have all border infrastructure ready by the end of 2019, the UKs is still not ready as Johnson denied the requirements of the very deal he pushed for and was elected to implement. Labour will now have to decide whether to carry on kicking Brexit into the long grass or suck up the costs and consequences. All with the Brexit supporting press baying loudly.

There will be some movement closer, but not as much as Remainers hoped for, and more than Brexiteers wanted.

So it goes, round and round. Wash, rinse and repeat.