Friday, September 01, 2017
Liam Fox outclassed by European chickens
The UK Secretary for International Trade is the sort of Fox who, if let loose in the chicken shed, would try to blame the chickens for the subsequent carnage. That is certainly the impression given by his latest whinging intervention in the European exit talks.
The Guardian says that Liam Fox, has ratcheted up the government’s war of words with the EU over Brexit by saying Britain will not be “blackmailed” into paying an excessive exit settlement to speed up a deal. However, he may not have noticed how weak his negotiating position is. I would advise him not to start playing poker.
The paper says that Liam Fox told Sky News that he is concerned the Brexit talks are “stuck” on the initial issues:
“I think there is frustration that we have not been able to get on that longer-term issue, that we’re stuck on this separation issue, and we’re not able to get on to the issues that will matter in the longer term for the future prosperity of the UK and the people of Europe.
“And I had representations from businesses from across Europe – from Germany, from Spain – to say: ‘Can we put more pressure on the commission to try and get us a better idea of what that final picture will look like because we need to maintain an open and liberal trading environment in Europe?’”
Of course the hold up is not the European Union, it is the failure of the UK Government to recognise the reality of the cliff they are driving us to, their inability to accept the obligations that the UK has signed up to and the fact that Brexiteers like Fox, Johnson and Davies took the country to this impasses without any idea of what came next.
If the UK really wants a quick trade deal then the Government has to start taking the exit talks seriously. Alternatively they could just abandon the whole idea as being completely against the country's best interests.
The Guardian says that Liam Fox, has ratcheted up the government’s war of words with the EU over Brexit by saying Britain will not be “blackmailed” into paying an excessive exit settlement to speed up a deal. However, he may not have noticed how weak his negotiating position is. I would advise him not to start playing poker.
The paper says that Liam Fox told Sky News that he is concerned the Brexit talks are “stuck” on the initial issues:
“I think there is frustration that we have not been able to get on that longer-term issue, that we’re stuck on this separation issue, and we’re not able to get on to the issues that will matter in the longer term for the future prosperity of the UK and the people of Europe.
“And I had representations from businesses from across Europe – from Germany, from Spain – to say: ‘Can we put more pressure on the commission to try and get us a better idea of what that final picture will look like because we need to maintain an open and liberal trading environment in Europe?’”
Of course the hold up is not the European Union, it is the failure of the UK Government to recognise the reality of the cliff they are driving us to, their inability to accept the obligations that the UK has signed up to and the fact that Brexiteers like Fox, Johnson and Davies took the country to this impasses without any idea of what came next.
If the UK really wants a quick trade deal then the Government has to start taking the exit talks seriously. Alternatively they could just abandon the whole idea as being completely against the country's best interests.
