Brexit Friday.

[STEMO]

Which ever way you look at it, it's going to be an abortion of an agreement. Even if the Europeans, by some miracle, agreed with the plan the government has formulated, there will be so much ambiguity and red tape that everything will seize up.
I can see squabbling for the next ten years.......unless we get a no deal.

[STEMO]

In fact, no deal is the only deal. If that means an Irish border....well.....Eire fought for independence and, as an independent country joined the EU.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Couldn't agree more.  ..........fick em. 

[Varche]

There is more detail onthebbcwebsite for example.

I noted the bit where it says and plans for a no deal scenario will continue. Good negotiating tool. Right from the outset I said trade trumps all. It will be interesting to see EU reactions in their respective countries papers tomorrow or when the white paper is actually published.

[Rods2]

Appeaser May's latest offer seems like a poor sell out by our remoaner politicians. Lack of criticism by the BBC gives a good clue on this. I don't think the EU commission wants a deal or the French government (until they lose our agricultural products market, but it will be too late then ), so I still expect the no deal option to happen. With what Appeaser May has offered especially the 'customs union' in all but name is going to severely restrict future ROW trade deals, so a no deal and WTO rules will be a blessing in disguise.

The good news is that our ROW trade balance is positive and with no EU deal I expect our negative EU trade balance to quite quickly disappear, where history shows if you are the bigger trade partner, where the EU is, it hits surplace countries more when there is trade friction by caused by one party, where we will replace expensive EU agricultural and German manufactured goods with ROW cheaper alternatives.

For the EU commission and their political project, to them politics is always much more important than any economic consequences, whereas in reality economics long term always, but always trumps politics, which is why long term the EU will fail. There nightmare is a successful post-Brexit UK, where we have escaped this largely French protectionist trading block which is losing global market share at double the rate of the US, with most EU countries outside of Germany and economic Germanic centric countries having a constant near zero or worse post Euro adoption GDP growth and high unemployment, epitomized by Italy, Portugal, Greece and to a slightly lessor extent France itself. Protectionist trade policies only stave off global competitiveness reality by making import duties on cheaper better overseas goods more expensive for your citizens as the protection of you uncompetitive industries make you economically weaker and weaker (1970's UK is a good example with coal, steel, ship building and BL all heavily subsidised), until it no longer can be sustained and at that point they will realise how much global trade they have lost and can only start to slowly claw this back through very painful economic readjustment.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Protectionist trade policies only stave off global competitiveness reality by making import duties on cheaper better overseas goods more expensive for your citizens as the protection of you uncompetitive industries make you economically weaker and weaker (1970's UK is a good example with coal, steel, ship building and BL all heavily subsidised), until it no longer can be sustained and at that point they will realise how much global trade they have lost and can only start to slowly claw this back through very painful economic readjustment.

You should write in to Mr Trump with this point Rods! 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Looks like a hokey cokey Brexit. One foot in, one foot out. In, out , shake it all about.

I listened to Lord Digby Jones speaking yesterday and he said he completely agreed with what James Dyson had said on how the negotiations should have been conducted. Theresa should have walked into a meeting with Barnier, a year or so ago, slapped down some papers on the table, told him that's what the UK intended to do, and then walked out of the room and waited for them to respond.
The woman defies medical science by walking upright without a spine.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I wouldn't  call her proposal Brexit. It certainly isn't BREXIT MEANS BREXIT.

She has finally come down firmly on the side of the remain camp and big business and sent out a big f*uck you to the 17.4 million people who voted to leave.

Also, this is the starting point of her negotiation with the EU. They will probably insist it is watered down even further.

It looks as the EU are still holding the reins.   

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

That nice Mr Rees Mogg has just said that a softly boiled egg isn't a boiled egg at all.

I think he refers to Brexit rather than telling cook off for being a lazy  working class oink who should be grateful he has given her employment.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I like JRM. 

He's kinda sinister underneath the oldy worldy gentlemanness that he portrays. 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I like JRM. 

He's kinda sinister underneath the oldy worldy gentlemanness that he portrays. 

Yep.....as Minister for the 18th century bringing back slavery is high on his list of political priorities.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I like JRM. 

He's kinda sinister underneath the oldy worldy gentlemanness that he portrays. 

Yep.....as Minister for the 18th century bringing back slavery is high on his list of political priorities.

Along with the press gangs! 

If he becomes PM, be careful on a night out in Plymouth or Portsmouth!   

[Doctor Gollum]

Which will last until about 9am tomorrow morning. 

The agreement or the cabinet...

[Rods2]

Protectionist trade policies only stave off global competitiveness reality by making import duties on cheaper better overseas goods more expensive for your citizens as the protection of you uncompetitive industries make you economically weaker and weaker (1970's UK is a good example with coal, steel, ship building and BL all heavily subsidised), until it no longer can be sustained and at that point they will realise how much global trade they have lost and can only start to slowly claw this back through very painful economic readjustment.

You should write in to Mr Trump with this point Rods! 

Looks like that may work in our favour as trump wants a US-UK FTA negotiated asap. The EU as a protectionist block, what Trump has said over EU tariffs on food and cars imported into the EU compared with EU tariffs is correct and it looks like he is going to start a new front on his trade war over it. Trade wars like wars are a clumsy way of dealing with things but in the murky world of geopolitics it makes sense for us to take advantage of anything advantageous on the table.

Geopolitical strategist George Friedman in his book "Flash points: The emerging crisis in Europe" makes a very good point about the UK where we have to balance our US and European geopolitical and trade interests, where our biggest single trading country is the US and our single biggest trading area is the EU.

Where for the last 40 years we have concentrated too much on Europe and the EU on trade, turning our backs to much of the rest of the world, this with Brexit is being rebalanced. Appeaser May is trying to have her cake and eat it With her level of incompetence we may well end up with the worst of everything globally. Locked into the EU with no say and ECJ compliance and not being able to do FTA deals with the rest of the world or having to muddle through and renegotiate things at a great cost and damage to the UK once she has gone in the future.

[aaronjb]

It looks as the EU are still holding the reins.

Reins? I think they are wearing the strapon.