shocking admissions by Liam Fox on @BBCR4today that govt is only now assembling evidence for its two customs options. Remember it put out its future partnership paper on customs in August last year gov.uk/government/pub…
did MInisters not ask before they signed off that paper how the options might work and what their costs might be...?
but before that the Prime Minister had ruled out staying in a customs union at Lancaster House in January. Did Ministers do that with no assessment of the costs and benefits?
and had no Ministers been presented with the @HMRCgovuk estimates of the costs? they needed to test that BEFORE they decided that UK wd benefit more from our own trade deals.
the Government is paying the price for internal and external secrecy. Put ideas out for consultation; include impact assessments. and then - as LF said - don't make knee-jerk decisions..
the Prime Minister prides herself at looking at all the evidence and then making her decision.. she either has evidence which she is keeping from her colleagues and the rest of us
or needs to admit all her major speeches were made with none of the evidence available...
