There was a damming report in the FT yesterday (behind a paywall so I can't post a link) which claims there is a "turf war" at the top of government. Apparently the two aides that Mrs May was forced to sack after the election, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, kept control of Brexit so tight that there was little or no discussion between cabinet ministers or between departments.
This is really only just beginning to change. Imagine that. A year after the referendum and just before negotiations were due to start, questions are being raised about what our aims are. I am amazed. One official is quoted as saying there has been no detailed discussions across Whitehall departments of the impact of Brexit on specific sectors of the economy. Stunning!
It also suggests Phillip Hammond and Greg Clark, the Chancellor and Business Secretary, are both pressing for a soft Brexit. Ministers close to industry are listening to companies and voices that see the damage Brexit will cause while Fox and Davis are deaf to them. Davis the report says, should be even handed as Brexit Secretary but he has strong opinions himself and the unnamed official says he is trying to be a player and a referee between competing interests at the same time and this cannot continue.
There is also said to be an as yet unpublished Treasury document challenging Fox to show future trade deals will make up for lost trade with the EU. Readers may be surprised that this has not yet been done! No doubt the paper will soon be leaked.
And finally, Olly Robbns, the DEXEU permanent Secretary and responsible for the negotiations in Brussels is said to keep our negotiating position "in his head". What is written down is often not widely circulated and Robbins apparently sometimes sent papers to Nick Timothy that even David Davis did not see. The official blames this excessive secrecy for Brussels being far better organised than we are. Lord Bridges, who resigned as a Junior Minister at DEXEU recently left, (HERE) it is claimed, because he was kept out of the loop!
The whole report is an indictment of government and reveals an utter shambles at the heart of the negotiations on the most important issue this country has faced since the Second World War. Mrs May really does look completely out of her depth but there appears to be no one who could do a better job - this should worry all of us.
