‘Tis surpassingly strange …Today is Ash Wednesday and, given the paucity of Brexit news across our esteemed MSM, it’s as if all the writers, editors and ‘Brussels Sources’ have vowed to “give up Brexit for Lent”. On top of which, some of the scariest Project-Fear promoters seem to be showing contrition and beg forgiveness after a fashion, as is suitable for Ash Wednesday. ‘Tis certainly surpassingly strange …

So first of all, let’s check on how our latest Brexit ‘negotiator’ fared, the Attorney General with the booming, mellifluous voice. It’s been reported that he was staying in Brussels overnight, after a dinner with Mr Tusk. Was there a result to his talks? Apparently not (see here). Before yesterday’s double Carnival feast of negotiations and dinner, Mr Cox told the press:

“[…] we are having very constructive dialogue at the moment. I’m not going to comment on the detail at this point. These are sensitive discussions and they must stay private for the moment.” (paywalled link)

Ah. That’s nice, to be sure, especially since the Irish Foreign Secretary is telling all and sundry that they (the Irish, that is) are doing their best to show that ‘temporary means temporary’ … a bit like saying that a piece of string is as long as a piece of string …

While the usual suspects are working hard to drum up support for Ms May’s unspeakable WA, ‘Economics’ is rearing its head again. Last evening we read that, actually, we in the UK are rather well prepared for a No Deal Brexit while the EU isn’t:

“Britain’s borders and banks are increasingly well prepared for a ‘no deal’ Brexit, softening the blow to growth and avoiding the worst of the potential chaos if no transition is agreed, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has said. [… the EU’s] authorities have done less to prepare for no deal and so could cut their economies off from chunks of the crucial financial centre in London.” (paywalled link, my bold)

This is the reason why we’re better set up than the EU:

“The Bank of England has agreed to let EU institutions continue operating in the UK, ensuring British families and firms will not lose access to funds and products from firms based over the Channel. […] As a result a no deal Brexit would cause much less harm to the economy than the Bank indicated in its scenarios set out last year […]” (paywalled link)

This bit of contrition by Mr Carney was picked up across the board. Here’s an  article (paywalled)  in RemainCentral, a.k.a. The Times. They lead with the various percentages of damage described by Mr Carney. Apparently he’s got lovely models depending on their being a ‘disruptive’ or ‘disorderly’ Brexit, but if you feared that Mr Carney has changed his tune, rest assured, he hasn’t:

“Mr Carney, the Bank’s governor, told peers yesterday that contingency plans put in place would reduce the damage by 2 percentage points in the “disruptive” model or 3.5 percentage points in the worse “disorderly” one. Both scenarios assumed that there would be significant border frictions, a market crash and a sterling collapse on March 29.” (paywalled link)

A case of ‘one hand giveth and the other takes away’? Leopards don’t change their spots, nor does Mr Carney or the Remainers. Brexit in whichever form is still bad. It looks though as if the EU is hoist by its own petard, economy-wise – how delicious … One wonders if our Remain Government and HoC actually know this. Perhaps you ought to tell them! I’ll certainly keep an eye on those developments.

There’s also an “act of contrition” by the former head of MI6. The letter he and 33 others sent to the DT (paywalled, here, and you need to scroll down somewhat) is stark. Here are some quotes (my bold):

“SIR – The Withdrawal Agreement is disastrous. It ties us to European Union rules without any say in drawing them up or any possibility of independent arbitration. […] There would be no control over EU migration. There would be no tangible benefits to show from Brexit.”

On the Backstop, they observe:

“The backstop is equally bad. It binds us to EU standards and regulations, including limits on state aid. Unelected committees will manage relations between the United Kingdom and the EU, without accountability to Parliament, voters, our courts or even international legal arbitration. We can only escape if a replacement agreement meets EU demands. This is likely to be equivalent to the backstop itself, which is thus essentially mandatory and permanent.”

They conclude:

“A no-deal exit, while requiring adjustments, offers immediate opportunities. It would allow us to cut unnecessary tariffs, reduce costly regulation, save on budget contributions and sign beneficial trade deals. […] The Government and the House of Commons must follow a firm and rational policy serving the national interest. The current Withdrawal Agreement does not do this.”

Do draw the attention of your constituency MP to this letter! You know MPs don’t read the MSM …

If you need more ammunition, here is a devastating analysis just out in BrexitCentral. I urge you all to read it:

“In two decades, EU Customs Union membership has not delivered clear benefits for any major UK sector”

The author, Phil Radford, uses data taken from the ONS, so this is proper analysis, not propaganda or Project Fear. He concludes his article:

“So, on the basis of the UK’s own 20-year trade data, there is not one, single major sector of trade in which the Customs Union has delivered clear, demonstrable benefit to UK since 1998. Shown in aggregate, across all UK trade, the failure is stark. What’s troubling – for UK consumers, at least – is that the Customs Union appears to be turning the UK into a series of tightly controlled captive markets for EU producers.” (my bold)

Do email your MPs with this latest info, don’t give up: be relentless!

 

23 days to Brexit – KBO!

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email