The Sunday Times this week had almost nothing directly about Brexit in the main section, which is a surprise. It looks as if they think all the work has been done and that readers will get bored if there is any discussion about the negotiations. The paper was pro Brexit but has now lost interest in the details like much of the rest of the mainstream media. It smacks of the idea that being in the EU is so bad, anything at all is better than membership.
Instead of articles and reports about what we want to achieve and all the "exciting new opportunities" Brexit was supposed to herald we get nothing. Now that we've voted to come out we can all go back to worrying about domestic matters it seems.
But inside the business section of The Sunday Times there are several items connected with Brexit
The CBI say we should remain in the customs union (HERE). The Director General, Carolyn Fairburn, says the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) that Liam Fox suggested we could join recently, has 11 countries which collectively account for 7% of our trade. Germany alone accounts for 11% and the EU as a whole is 43%.
BoJo apparently thinks it makes sense (HERE) for us to knock down barriers between us and the TPP countries (7% of trade) and in doing so, erect more barriers between ourselves and the EU (43% of trade). In BoJo world this makes sense. But only in BoJo world.
David Smith, the economics editor and pro remain thinks that the EU will damage itself if it doesn't reach a trade deal which covers financial services. This might be true but I don't believe it will prevent them taking a hard line. It is as if you are being threatened by a supplier who is telling you that you must buy from them otherwise you will suffer. This would only make me more determined to find an alternative and I expect the EU to do that same.
And an article on smart electricity meters says the UK roll out is a mess because the suppliers don't fit devices that are compatible with all systems. If you want to switch supplier you may well lose the smart function and and have to go back to manual reading of meters yourself. Needless to say the article explained in the EU this problem doesn't occur because they have a harmonised standard for meters. We probably rejected this because - well, because we're British and this is how we do things. Harmonised standards are just a pain aren't they? Until you need them that is.
