The Telegraph has an article HERE by Nick Timothy the disgraced former aide to Theresa May and writer of the Conservative party's 2017 manifesto. I think it demonstrates the problem we face with Brexit. People who know nothing about anything are offering advice through the pages of national newspapers. He says the "key Brexit opportunity" is in danger - by which he means that remaining in the customs union would prevent us signing trade deals with other countries.
Don't forget that the secret economic impact assessment produced by DEXEU is clear that no trade deals are ever going to make up for the loss of EU trade, in which case staying in the customs union seems like the best idea. Timothy doesn't produce a shred of evidence to counter the DEXEU assessment but nevertheless urges MPs to reject the customs union.
The CBI after canvassing its members wants to remain in the customs union. And, Ed Balls has a report out yesterday (HERE) prepared by Harvard and setting out the views of companies and trade organisations who are actively involved in export trade. It makes clear that almost unanimously these companies want to remain in the single market. It's a serious and detailed report prepared by serious people and is the sort of evidence that leave campaign and the Brexiteers simply never commissioned or provided. A few extracts:
"None of the companies we spoke to, across any sector, saw their industry benefiting unambiguously from Brexit. Even sectors like fishing, which sees advantage in re-establishing British control over UK waters, also recognise the challenges presented by the imposition of tariffs given that the EU is the biggest export market for UK fish and seafood, accounting for over £1billion of exports, almost double the £550 million exported to other countries. Most companies saw many more challenges for their sector than opportunities".
"Most British businesses would prefer to remain in the Single Market".
The problem for the nation is the division between people who don't know their a**e from their elbow, but disdain experts and are now not only ignoring experts, which is bad enough, but they're beginning to advise them! They are telling the experts, the people actually doing the job day in and day out, that they're wrong. The arrogance is amazing.
Politico has a nice article (HERE) by Danuta Hübner, a member of the EU Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group about what she calls our "huge misunderstanding" about the EU customs union. They also have a useful FAQ page (HERE) which explains the details.
Politico has a nice article (HERE) by Danuta Hübner, a member of the EU Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group about what she calls our "huge misunderstanding" about the EU customs union. They also have a useful FAQ page (HERE) which explains the details.
