Now this is a laugh. The Daily Excess are reporting the absolute outrage of MP, Brexiteer and simpleton, Andrew Bridgen who has just discovered that Brexit seems to mean, well; Brexit actually. He is mad as hell that the UK is being excluded from the Galileo satellite programme (HERE). Having urged everybody to vote to leave the EU he is shocked to find that we will no longer be in the EU. Who knew? Mr Bridgen presumably thought we could leave the EU but remain in all the EU institutions as well. It's not clear where he's been since the Galileo announcement came out months ago, perhaps on a self awareness course somewhere. God knows he needs it.
But humorous though this is, it isn't the funniest part. The Express, not having a reputation for accuracy - or even basic facts - tells it's readers (who also have something of a reputation, mainly for being brain dead) that the UK contributed £1.2 billion of the £8.5 billion project cost. The government is, according to the Express' report, threatening to spend "£92 billion" on a feasibility study to build our own system*. Ya hear that Brussels! £92 BILLION. We're not messing about anymore, we are spending twice the UK's entire defence budget just on the feasibility study.
What the actual system will cost I have no idea but it looks like it might be literally astronomical. Quite appropriate for a satellite system perhaps. We may have to manage with some tin cans and lengths of taut string.
Another man on a journey is Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is complaining to ITV (HERE) that the EU aren't negotiating properly. This is the man who accused the EU of being like the Soviet Union, I assume in an effort to show how real negotiations should be carried out.
We voted to "take back control" and are now perhaps starting to understand what this means in practice. It was always obvious, as we remainers warned at the time, that the EU would not - indeed could not - negotiate like a nation or a state, because that is not what it is. The EU is a legal construct and it can only act within the limits of the treaties that set it up. There never was the slightest chance of a conventional negotiation or at least not after the 27 had agree their position.
Once the guidelines were set (and we had no involvement of course) that was that.
Eventually, after eighteen months of internal arguments and with 177 days to go, we have yet to realise we will only get one or other of the "off the shelf" models of relationship with the EU that were always on offer. We will very shortly have to give up squaring the circle and face up to the consequences of Brexit.
