The Times (HERE) is reporting that Mrs May intends to update parliament today on the state of the negotiations and will apparently use the opportunity to say, in effect, the Florence speech was it, the last concession and that there will be no more. We have "offered what we were going to offer". The ball, she will tell them, is in their court. This will be a short ball, bouncing at a perfect height and played to the Del Potro forehand while you are well out of court. It will be an easy winner.
And this article today (HERE) by Bernard Jenkins in The Guardian is written in the same vein. The first sentence is the key to understanding Brexiteers. Mr Jenkins says there is no reason why Brexit should be "difficult or damaging" which is a stunning remark by an outwardly sane person anyway. But he says the EU has "demonstrated it wants to make it so". Where to begin? He is so wrong but one can see where the blame is going when he say we can't trust our own Treasury. This is the day the fifth round of negotiations starts in Brussels. It is not a coincidence.
We are approaching an important moment. If the reports are true - and it seems they are - we are heading for a serious breakdown. And Richard North (HERE) claims that David Davis does not intend to go to Brussels on Thursday for the closing statements - a sure sign they do not expect any progress.
Bernard Jenkins writes, "The EU should stop obstructing these discussions about an agreement, which should be relatively easy to agree in principle, since the UK and the EU will have identical regulatory systems on the day of Brexit, so both sides can aim at maximum mutual recognition of different sectors"
He appears not to realise that on 1st April 2019 we will become a "third country" with all that means. The fact that our regulatory systems are identical will mean nothing unless we permanently lock ourselves by treaty into conformity with EU laws something the Brexiteers will not do because we would be under ECJ jurisdiction. He goes on:
If everyone was intent on being reasonable, the practical or legal problems would be surmountable. However, the EU is determined to be anything but. It refused to enter any discussions at all until the UK had invoked article 50. We did so, and still the EU refused to discuss the future trade relationship, insisting first on “sufficient progress” on citizenship, money and the Northern Ireland border.
Time is the essence of Article 50. If Jenkins didn't realise that he shouldn't be in parliament. The EU was never going to start talks beforehand since this would negate the advantage they have. And we agreed to the sequencing but have stubbornly refused to make progress on the separation issues.
Dominic Raab, another Brexiteer and idiot, has told the BBC (HERE) that the government is making preparations for a no-deal exit but not "advertising" it. He said they were getting on with it "quietly and assiduously". This work is being done so quietly that no one has even noticed. No one has actually seen the land being purchased for all the additional space and buildings needed to house the border inspection and customs posts. Nor have they seen any planning applications or construction work. No foundations being excavated or concrete poured. Not only is it being done quietly it is also being done invisibly!
If these "preparations" are anything like our other preparations for Brexit they will be a hotch-potch of half-baked ideas that range from the ridiculous to the impossible, assuming they exist at all. Mr Raab had better hope the EU don't force us to leave without a deal, otherwise he is going to look even more stupid than he usually does.
They know his words are for domestic consumption only. If anyone knows what a hard Brexit means it is the EU and they know we are not preparing for it at all. In fact we have given Nissan and the other car manufacturers specific assurances that we won't leave without a deal. If we do, I look forward to seeing how he explains to the workers in Sunderland, Swindon, Derby and the West Midlands how they don't have highly paid jobs any more.
It is all a huge bluff and everybody in the EU knows it.
He is another who must have been in Barnier's thoughts when said, "I would recommend that nobody underestimates the complexity and the legal, human, social, economic, and financial difficulties of this decision. And I recommend that those who made this decision should shoulder the consequences". So far they are not.
