And we are back to an old problem: a topic of quite a bit of technicality is explained to politicians, some of whom have never dealt with the topic before, who explain it to other politicians who have not dealt with it trying also to spin it their way (mini-thread)
Tariffs, FTAs, NTB, TRQs, CUs - none of this is the traditional daily business of 90% of politicians. Suddenly they are not just expected to know all of this, but also to be able to spin it to an electorate that is fundamentally split.
Do you remember the “implementation period” anecodate? (Yes, I have work to do, so I just tell it from memory). It was clear that a stand-still transition without representation needed to be included in the Withdrawal Agreement...
... However, at the time that realisation was not yet widespread. So the UK government instead spoke about an implementation period. The spin here was that any new free trade agreement would enter into force step by step rather than all at once. With an implementation period...
... so in Parliament, the government was confronted with that and the question was whether you could have an implementation period without anything to implement. The government said no. And the press panicked and reported there would be no transition...
... but what it was, was politicians stumbling over their own complex net of spin. I want to emphasize that I am not criticising here. Not at all. In fact, I fear with the electorate split and bitterly divided, the issues of the highest importance for the UK’s future...
... but of an atrocious technicality this does not seem that illogical. The problem is it does not help us. By the way: do you know the end of the implementation period story?...
The Withdrawal Agreement now uses both terms. Lawyers. Aren’t we endearing?
This also explains the frequent use of IP by Raab in testimony to Parliament . As someone who warned about the ISDS risks of not providing continuity for IP I wondered...
And to those who complained about continentals messing up the English language: boy you are serious about replacing us. Now you even want that job for yourselves!
