Laura Kuenssberg's item for BBC News (HERE) concerning the Brexit negotiations rings very true. British negotiators claim, anonymously of course, that they have nothing to say to their counterparts because their ministers haven't told them what they want, beyond generalities about frictionless trade. This fits in very well with what we learn about negotiations still continuing between cabinet ministers.
Listen to this as one of the key concerns:
"There's a sense that the government has just not made enough of the big decisions to allow the talks to really get going. One source told me "I've got nothing to say" when talking to EU counterparts, because ministers haven't got to the stage yet of being clear about the detail of what they want. They are still focused on generalities rather than giving directions on the nitty gritty. On the Brexit "divorce bill" for example, I'm told the expectation across Whitehall is that it will be somewhere between 30 and 50 billion euros. But rather than the UK actually putting forward what they think might be acceptable, they are hanging back, rather than digging in".
The first round of negotiations ends today in Brussels (HERE) and there will be a press conference. It will fascinating to see what is said.
Meanwhile, Liam Fox is on his way to the WTO in Geneva today to tell them Brexit is an opportunity for Britain to "set it's sights wider and embrace the realities of globalisation". This is bound to infuriate remainers and soft Brexiteers. The BBC report (HERE) says Mr Fox does not believe reliance on WTO rules will be a disaster for the UK. In this I think he is in a very small minority of a few hundred people. Almost everyone else, including the CBI which represents great swathes of industry think it would do enormous and permanent damage to the very sectors that we would rely on post Brexit.
Who are we to trust? A medical doctor and politician who probably never set foot in a factory until he had to or the organisation whose fundamental task is to represent the manufacturers, suppliers of services and exporters that our future prosperity depends on?
