What could the UK get?
The emerging suggestion that the Tory party will once again dump the DUP and agree a deal with the EU over the NIP is good news. It also makes me wonder what the UK could do to get a better deal than the existing one.
For a start implementing the deal the UK has is the first step, no one will trust you if you don’t do at least that.
That would free up talks on Horizon, data, qualifications and financial regulation; which would certainly help.
The UK could then stop trying to tear up every piece of EU legislation just be it has the letters EU in it, unilaterally agree to the EU’s CE standards and chemical industry standards and food and agricultural standards and then basically wait to see if the EU is willing to cut red tape because it now trusts the government.
But beyond that it is difficult to see much progress.
The EU does not want the UK in the Single Market, EFTA doesn’t want it in EFTA, nor does anyone want to try a mix and match Swiss style deal again.
The very Brexiteers who bleat most about betrayal have got exactly what they want, there is no way back for decades. There is also not much to be done to improve the current appalling deal.
Refusing any role for the ECJ, refusing to accept EU rules, tearing up rules deliberately just to make any cooperation more difficult, threatening to leave the ECHR. They are all watched with shock, despair and disgust by our former colleagues.
Sorry, but the UK just needs to have people trust it again before it can do anything to even ameliorate this mess.
That will take years of a sane and sensible government and will always be overshadowed by the fact that the swivel eyed loons could win an election again.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.
By Jonty Bloom Media
“The swivel-eyed loons could win an election again”. Indeed! On a minority of the vote, since they never get a majority of the popular vote. Which, perversely, is why we need the Tories to do better at the next election than currently looks likely. We need proportional representation, so that a minority can never lead us down the garden path again. Labour won’t deliver if it has a majority - of seats, not of votes. So today’s message is - don’t vote Labour! I want a minority Labour government that has to listen to others. And PR!