Brexit

captain red dog wrote:

Lagamorph wrote:I mean, everyone who voted leave at least voted for the economically and socially hurting the country part.

Everybody who voted remain wanted to exploit the working class so that they could keep ltheir package holidays and gap year bar work.

We can all come up with ridiculous theories.

Alvin Flummux wrote:I strawberry floating hate these new merit-based immigration schemes.

Squinty wrote:https://www.ft.com/content/f4775024-0774-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5

Are the government starting to see sense?

Moggy wrote:

Squinty wrote:https://www.ft.com/content/f4775024-0774-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5

Are the government starting to see sense?

The article is behind a paywall, but the headline seems to suggest the government are thinking about staying in the customs union?

Interesting. I am not sure it means the government are starting to see sense though, the government appears to have no idea what it is doing and doesn’t seem to have had any idea for a couple of years now.

I think the current government plan is to put as many ideas out there as possible and then see what Leavers react to. Are Leavers pissed off? Quick talk tough about the EU! Do Leavers not seem bothered? Quick see if the EU will somehow compromise!

FT wrote:UK weighing customs union deal after Brexit

Move could limit loss of EU trade but represent big climbdown by May

Theresa May’s Brexit advisers are secretly considering whether Britain could strike a customs union deal covering trade in goods with the EU, a move that would severely limit the UK’s ability to strike out on its own.

Senior British officials argue that such a step would limit a loss of trade with Europe after Brexit, help address concerns about the north-south Irish border, and reduce the need for complex new customs procedures.

The Financial Times has been told by three UK officials that the discussions are “live” in Whitehall.

One official close to Mrs May confirmed the plan — which would take effect after a transition period of about two years following Brexit in March 2019 — was one option being considered.

“If we can find a way of keeping goods in the customs union and retaining some independence on trade — particularly on services — we should look at it.” Philip Hammond, chancellor of the exchequer, and Greg Clark, business secretary, are among ministers favouring a close customs relationship after Brexit.

Liam Fox, the pro-Brexit trade secretary, rejected the idea, telling Bloomberg: “It is very difficult to see how being in a customs union is compatible with having an independent trade policy because we would therefore be dependent on what the EU negotiated in terms of its trading policies and we’d be following behind that.”

“We have to be outside of that to take advantage of those growing markets. One of the reasons we are leaving the European Union is to take control and that’s not possible with a common external tariff,” he said.

But Theresa May, when asked in an interview with Sky whether Britain could stay in a customs union with the EU, declined to rule it out.

“What I want to do is ensure that we have got the best possible trade arrangements with China and with other countries around the world once we have left the European Union,” she said.

If it had a customs union with the EU, Britain would still seek to strike trade deals with non-EU countries, particularly since it would no longer benefit from the bloc’s agreements with other nations.

But London’s bargaining power could be limited, since countries with EU deals would already have access to the UK goods markets via the customs union.

Britain could still strike its own trade deals on services, which make up about 80 per cent of the economy, but services-only deals are a relative novelty that would represent a new departure for the global economy.

The customs union proposal is backed by the CBI employers federation, but a UK government spokesman said: “We want to see the most frictionless arrangement as possible but also we need to have the freedom to sign trade deals across the world.”

Under the customs union plan, Britain would retain the EU’s common external tariff on goods with the aim of minimising bureaucracy at the border.

The move would help reduce the need for border inspections and paperwork, but not eliminate it because the EU27 would still need to check that goods flowing from the UK to the bloc met regulatory standards for sensitive products unless the UK also signed up to common regulations under single market rules.

A customs deal covering just trade in goods could appeal to the rest of the EU because of its strength in the sector. The UK had a surplus of £14bn on trade in services in 2016 but it was outweighed by a deficit of £96bn on trade in goods.

George Osborne, former chancellor, urged Mrs May to remain part of a customs union on Thursday, saying the sums “don’t stack up”.

DML wrote:I bet you since the day this all started with May in government she wanted to do that. The problem has been keeping her party in check.

Photek wrote:I'm going out on a limb here but with the News of Carillion debacle now followed by Capita shares crashing yesterday, living in Ireland and having seen our economy go down the tubes, things in the UK are reminding me of the lead up to our Recession. I think the UK is going to be hit hard in the coming years. I hope I'm wrong but It's not looking good.

KK wrote:It'll be based on the world economy. There will be a severe recession (because there always is) but it won't be occurring to the UK in isolation.

DML wrote:

Photek wrote:I'm going out on a limb here but with the News of Carillion debacle now followed by Capita shares crashing yesterday, living in Ireland and having seen our economy go down the tubes, things in the UK are reminding me of the lead up to our Recession. I think the UK is going to be hit hard in the coming years. I hope I'm wrong but It's not looking good.

Recession is nigh on guarenteed. 2% drop (what the soft Brexit entails according to those reports) is a recession. And no only that, we are in austerity still.

I must admit I'm very excited for the majority of my working life to be clouded by recession. Good work doofuses.

I'm so over being nice to people about this.

twitter.com/britainelects/status/959408565709615109

Errkal wrote:Yeah well they all need to respect the will of the people!

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said he thinks there is a public appetite for Ireland to withdraw from the European Union.

Speaking to RTE News, he said that "there are voices now in Ireland saying maybe the Brits are right about it.

"There are lots of people in the professional media, civil service and political classes who love the European Union, but actually, if you go a few miles outside Dublin, it’s not all that pro-EU. I’ve never bought this argument that Ireland is totally pro-EU."

Mr Farage also claimed that Irish people had told him "it’s about time we had a UKIP in Ireland".

Photek wrote:Nigel is over here trying to wind us up!

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said he thinks there is a public appetite for Ireland to withdraw from the European Union.

Speaking to RTE News, he said that "there are voices now in Ireland saying maybe the Brits are right about it.

"There are lots of people in the professional media, civil service and political classes who love the European Union, but actually, if you go a few miles outside Dublin, it’s not all that pro-EU. I’ve never bought this argument that Ireland is totally pro-EU."

Mr Farage also claimed that Irish people had told him "it’s about time we had a UKIP in Ireland".

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2018/0202/937923-nigel-farage-dublin/