Brexit reality on 'taking control' hitting home

Just what awaits the UK on the other side of Brexit was made clear by the US Ambassador in interview yesterday, when he underlined just how weak our negotiating position will be in future trade deals once we cease to be a member of the World's biggest free trade area.

As the Guardian reports, Woody Johnson suggested the UK would need to allow US agricultural products, including chlorinated chicken, on to the UK market as part of any post-Brexit trade deal, as well as US private sector involvement in the NHS:

The US ambassador, who is a close friend of the US president, said every area of the UK economy would be up for discussion when the two sides brokered a trade deal.

Asked if the NHS was likely to form part of trade negotiations, he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I think the entire economy, in a trade deal, all things that are traded would be on the table.” Asked if that specifically meant healthcare, he said: “I would think so.”

His comments prompted an alarmed reaction from opposition politicians. The shadow health secretary, Jon Ashworth, said the comments were deeply concerning.

“The ambassador’s comments are terrifying and show that a real consequence of a no-deal Brexit, followed by a trade deal with Trump, will be our NHS up for sale. This absolutely should not be on the table,” he said. “Nigel Farage and the Tories want to rip apart our publicly-funded and provided NHS. Labour will always defend it.”

Johnson was also pressed on whether the US would seek a loosening of agricultural standards, including the importation of chlorinated chicken. He said the products should be offered to British consumers who could decide whether to buy them.

“There will have to be some deal where you give the British people a choice,” he said. “American products can come over … but if the British people like it, they can buy it; if they don’t like it, they don’t have to buy it.”

In his Sunday interview, the US ambassador also issued a veiled warning to May’s successor over the involvement of Huawei in UK infrastructure, saying he would “caution” the British government not to make any rushed decisions.

As part of the EU, the UK is strong enough to resist these sort of undesirable deals, however once we have left we will no longer have that protection. We will be at the mercy of the sort of predatory trade deals being mooted by the US Ambassador.

As for the NHS, the Brexit Party still do not have a manifesto, but leading members, including Farage, have indicated in the past that private companies should have a bigger stake in delivering our state health services, including insurance companies. The fact that one of his biggest allies, and donors, runs an insurance company is entirely coincidental.