Austin Mitchell, the eccentric 84 year old former Labour MP for Great Grimsby, has written an article for Brexit Central HERE. It is a classic piece of tortured Brexiteer logic. The EU is "punishing us" and Michel Barnier is playing a "dirty game". Reading the article one would get the impression that the EU is kicking us out acrimoniously rather than the UK having voted to leave. Now the EU is "so inflexible and insecure that it turns a negotiation into a punishment beating, claiming that it can’t modify its own “rules” least the whole structure collapses, a proud nation has no alternative but to play Barnier at his own dirty game."
Note Mr Mitchell, who always had a shaky grip on things, seems to believe the EU is "punishing" us because it won't modify its own rules to accommodate a member who is leaving. This is the "dirty game" M Barnier is playing apparently. Mitchell complains (he really does) that Barnier is completely unreasonable in saying the UK must “accept the consequences of its own actions”. How dare he?
Austin Mitchells fevered answer is this:
"An early entry to Britain for all agricultural production from developing nations we’ve been forced to exclude. Then trade deals with the old Commonwealth, and threats of high duties on German and French cars, all step by step until we get an acceptable deal".
Farming in the UK would be destroyed overnight along with the car industry, outside the customs union and the single market but also now suffering punitive and retaliatory tariffs. He doesn't appear to know the Germans own Bentley, Rolls Royce and the Mini brand while French company PSA, owners of Citroen-Peugeot, recently bought Vauxhall. These companies export to the EU and would be crippled by tariffs.
"The EU is taking its gloves off for the bare knuckle last round. Up to now they’ve had no real need to play the hardman, though they have, nevertheless. Theresa has opted for the nice approach, and accepted their demands: the excessive payments, what they wanted on EU citizens and no customs border with Northern Ireland. The result is that she’s walked into a trap even before the real negotiations begin".
Mitchell thinks Mrs May has been "nice" in saying no deal is better than a bad deal and issuing veiled threats about deliberately weakening European security if we don't get what we want. Johnson talked about the EU, as Mitchell now does, giving us punishment beatings. Davis accused Guy Verhofstadt of being Satan. I don't recall a single occasion when the EU has said anything similar.
All of this is creating an atmosphere that cannot be helpful, either to the present negotiations or for our future relationship with the EU 27, not to say to social cohesion in this country. This is why Brexit will fail. It's built on the shifting sands of xenophobia, wishful thinking and a denial of reality. These are not things that can endure for very long.
