Alastair Heath writes in The Telegraph and for City AM. He is an enthusiastic Brexiteer if ever there was one. But if you needed proof how stupid the average Brexiteer is you need look no further than his latest column (HERE). He likens government policy towards Brexit to the Kamikaze squadrons. One fears he may not survive the collision with reality that will soon be coming. If nothing else was clear about the referendum, the one utterly certain thing was that we would leave the EU and ipso facto, become a third country. But having urged the nation to become a third country he has this stunning question:
"Why can’t the Prime Minister calmly point out to Mr Macron and the rest of the EU how the UK would respond to a one-sided imposition of full third-country customs checks on UK exports?"
I am tempted to say that Alastair is 8 years old and lives in never never land. Full third country customs checks are what will and must happen as an inevitable consequence of Brexit. Presumably, he thought Brexit meant Remain?
Why he now objects to being treated exactly as he voted to be treated is not entirely clear. The old sense of British exceptionalism and entitlement might have something to do with it.
Before the referendum all these sort of things were pointed out but airily dismissed as scaremongering and project fear. Now the scene of the accident is coming into view and clearly unavoidable, Heath and others are looking to shift the blame onto those who warned that driving a bus over a cliff would be very damaging. Heath is of the opinion that if only the driver believed he could drive the bus over a cliff safely all would be well. Err no. The laws of physics unfortunately trump beliefs, no matter how deeply or passionately held.
Here are a few extracts from what one might call the ravings of an idiot:
"By now, a normal government would have worked out exactly what needs to be done to keep planes flying and supermarkets stocked. This is not about succumbing to the fear-mongers: a series of tricky yet solvable technical problems would arise from terminating our membership of the EU while not replacing it with any other legal arrangement".
"A sensible government would not be shy about telling us, in extreme detail and accompanied by extensive legal advice, how it would resolve these issues: all of this would be public information, and directed at UK as well as European audiences".
"Civil servants want to use the M20 as a lorry car park, in a move apparently designed to infuriate locals. Why no truly sustainable solution? Why hasn’t the government purchased or rented vast amounts of land in the proper place, and used emergency rules to bypass planning red tape? There are powers available on the statute book for the government to act during times of emergency".
"And why hasn’t it recruited 1000 vets from abroad, to make sure that checks on meat and other foodstuffs can be made at the border - paying them massive bonuses if need be? Why hasn’t it worked out what to do at Dover, supposedly the key port health authority? Why hasn’t it earmarked £5bn or £10bn in emergency funding, with massive cash prizes for contractors that work 24 hours a day to deliver what must be done?"
"More to the point, why can’t it negotiate a bridging mini-deal with France to ensure than none of this is necessary? Why isn’t that the sole purpose of Theresa May’s trip to see Emmanuel Macron? Why can’t the Prime Minister calmly point out to Mr Macron and the rest of the EU how the UK would respond to a one-sided imposition of full third-country customs checks on UK exports? And ditto any decision by the Irish to attempt to cut off Northern Ireland’s electricity supply? Will this government ever be firm, or can it only beg?"
"What if the Europeans were not to reciprocate? The government could promise to indemnify all agricultural exporters, and perhaps others too, or help them in some other way, in the short run, in full knowledge of the legal issues. It could encourage retailers to source far more of their goods and produce from outside the EU, and to shift supply chains as soon as possible, inflicting immediate pain on EU producers. It could cut Vat and other taxes to cushion any disruption".
All the massive Brexit problems that he was warned about or should have realised had he bothered to inform himself before he urged others on, are no more than inconveniences this any half competent, mid ranking civil servant should be able to solve. He talks about "mini deals" with France to solve any minor border issues as if France wasn't part of the EU at all. Incredible. As for sourcing more produce from outside the EU, where is he thinking of - for 30% of our food? He doesn't seem to realise you need land, seed, fertiliser and months of sun and rain to grow the 80% of vegetables that arrive from the EU.
Keeping plans flying is jst a "tricky yet solvable technical problem" probably a bit like the Irish border. It's all a doddle isn't it? Oh, bless. He ought to read the report by Dover District Council to get an idea of the sheer scale, depth and range of the problems facing one port. Council officers can't plan until they know what to plan for. Heath seems to think the government should have taken emergency powers to compulsorily purchase land and build ....err, what? Alastair Heath doesn't know either - he just wants somebody to plan for something.
But I think Alastair Heath demonstrates the wider issue. Last September (HERE) he wrote a similar article. The government is totally incompetent and so on, but blamed it all on DEXEU and said No 10 should take charge. Well, that's exactly what's happened and now he blames No 10! Sooner or later the Brexiteers are going to have to admit it isn't the problems solvers who are to blame, it's the problem itself.
An insoluble problem is just that. It doesn't matter who you send.
