Following on from recent blogs about why so many of the UK’s problems are down to the rash decision to leave the Single Market, I thought it would be worth looking at what re-joining it would involve.
For a start the UK would have to issue a mea culpa and apologise for wasting everyone’s time and especially Michel Barnier’s, for the last 5 years. Then it would have to agree to free movement of goods, people, services and capital. Then it would have to pay money to the EU annually and agree that in regard to the single market EU law would have to be superior.
I think the UK is big enough to negotiate some limits on immigration but as for the rest it is pretty much take it or leave it. Even this kind of deal would mean border posts and inspections, as the UK would be setting its own tariffs and would not be in the CAP or CFP. But this would be the kind of deal that was promised during the referendum and which was then immediately made impossible by “brexit means brexit” and those red lines.
The brexiteers knew full well this would be the case, which is why they pushed and pushed again to make it the worst possible deal. They campaigned for a bad deal because their ideology demanded it and because they knew that it would make any later renegotiations impossible. There is no way even an SNP/Lab/Green/Lib alliance could get the country back into the single market, the screams of betrayal, the claims of EU dominance, floods of immigrants and many more would be too much.
Brexiteers not only got the deal they wanted they burned the boats. Which is why those red lines and “brexit means brexit” were the stupidest and most ill advised foreign policy move the UK could have made; not only because it ended the chances of a good deal immediately but because it is irreversible.
https://jonty.substack.com/
Oh dear remainers remorse, have you thought about counselling? Nothing rash about the decision to leave the single market.
When you list all the changes on leaving the EU you highlight the significant changes from leaving and when you highlight that you cannot expect everything to go perfectly smoothly, that is unrealistic especially when there are those working against success of escape.
BUT the sun still rises today in the morning and sets when it should, the World has not caved in since we left.
We campaigned for a bad deal did we? Utter rubbish we campaigned for a good deal but we expected and were prepared for a bad deal should it be the only one on the table (as part of teaching us a lesson) . We would not be disuaded from our determined path despite all the games by the remainers.
And Mea culpa is a joke right? No chance.
I hope it is irreversible having taken 5 years to escape.