Over the weekend various groups who were worried about the slow progress (if any) with Brexit started to cohere demanding the idea of going for a 'Hard Brexit'. This, as far as anyone can define is to say 'let's forget about the single market and simply go it alone in the world'. I make this the microwave recipe for it assumes we simply send in the Article 50 letter as soon as possible, put two fingers to our former friends and get on with it: fast.
The fact that this group included great striding minds like John Redwood and Jacob Rees-Mogg should surely tell us all we need to know about its credibility.
If David Cameron's original intention in calling the referendum was to sort out disagreements within the Tory party then it is clear that it has not yet succeeded. There seems to be no consensus on whether we need/want/will get access to the European single market.
- On Monday we heard that Senior Tories had 'warned against hard Brexit' despite people like Boris backing the idea
- On Tuesday Michael Howard took a typically tough line and argued for a hard break while showing his lack of understanding of existing trade relationships - and this from a former party leader
- On Thursday, Liam Fox seemed to want to have his cake and eat it. In a speech as full of optimistic visioning and as devoid of detail or rational facts as David Davis', he hinted at a hard Brexit and suggesting that we would have access to the single market with little problem. The old adage of 'they need us more than we need them ...' which stands up to about 30 seconds worth of analysis. Nick Clegg was on hand to point out the fallacy. It is so good to have a Trade Minister who really understands his brief
Liam Fox later waved away the warning from Nissan bosses that they would stop investing in their highly successful plant in Sunderland if tariffs made them uncompetitive. What an irony that it was Sunderland that was the first to declare their vote in the referendum and the poor people of that city look like being the first turkeys to discover the meaning of Christmas.
It is worth reading the full article in the Independent in which the author, James Moore, leaves us in no doubt about his view of Liam Fox or Brexit.
- [New models will] almost certainly be built in countries that haven't chosen to shoot themselves in their economic foot
- ... but Brexiteers like the odious Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade ...
- [And when the jobs go in Sunderland] ... you wonder whether Mr Fox has given any thought to what he might replace them with? More call centres?
- Will Mr Fox, a wealthy man who will be all but immune from the economic fallout of Brexit, be welcomed if he visits the affected areas after this has happened? Probably not a question worth asking. I doubt he'll have the guts.
No doubt he, like the Express (whose link with reality was lost long ago) believe that 'we will be fine' because the economy is doing well just now.
It took a wonderful piece in Private Eye to nail the truth in a few well-chosen words: To put it in more technical term, the shit hasn't hit the fan yet, as Theresa May tries to delay turning the fan on for as long as possible.
Turkey itself was in the news with Boris once again flip-flopping his views on the benefits of their joining the EU.
- Two years ago, in a television documentary he sat on the banks of the Bosphorus and underlined the cultural importance of Turkey joining the EU
- In May/June this year, he backed the Brexit campaign and stressed the danger of 70m Turks (overtones of 'Muslims', terrorists, Syrian refugees ...) flooding into the EU and thus into the UK (despite everyone pointing out that Turkey had a very long way to go on the process and the UK would have a veto on them joining anyway)
- Now he wants to be very helpful in assisting Turkey to join
Somewhere during this week, there was a Labour Party Conference but other than re-crowning Saint Jeremy, it had little connection with the reality we face and barely mentioned Brexit.
Next week we have the Tory Party conference at which we expect to hear much about domestic matters and probably very little detail from the PM about Brexit. After all, she would not want to give us a running commentary, would she?
'Dead cats' - like the proposals for grammar schools - will be thrown in our paths to distract us from asking difficult questions about her least favourite topic.
Having had a French and a German minister trying to explain the four freedoms - and the link between access to the single market and freedom of movement - to the UK in words of one syllable, rumours abound that it just may end up as a mess.
The last word of the week must go to that Euro-hero Guy Verhofstadt (who we last met being dropped from Nigel Farage's Christmas card list). Here is his 'Christmas' message to the world:
So Boris Johnson wants to help Turkey join the EU, after he just campaigned for the UK to leave the EU on the basis that Turkey would be joining the EU in the near future.
The UK Defence Minister today says the UK Government will block EU efforts to enhance its security capabilities, even though the UK is leaving the EU, yet they say they want and enhanced security relationship with the EU after Brexit.
Liam Fox, the UK Trade Minister, has indicated the UK will leave the EU's customs union, because he thinks other markets are more important, yet his Prime Minister tells us that the EU27 'will sign' an ambitious trade deal with the UK.
It is good to know that the man with whom we will be negotiating has such a high regard for our ministers.
