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Edwin Hayward
@uk_domain_names
, 5 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
The Department of Transport has axed its contract with Seaborne Freight, the infamous ferry-company-without-ferries due to operate out of Ramsgate, after its backer pulled out. Has Chris Grayling reached peak incompetence? Surely this can't be topped?
expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2…
Once we've finished laughing, there's a serious point to this. The DoT are claiming no harm no foul because they never handed over any money. But IF the ferries had been needed, the UK now doesn't have access to them. How many other contracts are dependent on delivery?
Because it's going to be cold comfort after Brexit if the Government says "Don't worry, folks. We managed to avoid any financial exposure to all these firms that didn't do what they were supposed to" if what they were supposed to do was critical for the UK's infrastructure.
It's like having a deal with a private fire service, only to have them fail to show up when your house is burning. Staring at the smouldering ashes, you tell people "Everything's ok, absolutely fine. I never had to pay them any money up front, after all."
(This didn't age well, but it's still amusing.)
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More from @uk_domain_names see all

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Edwin Hayward
@uk_domain_names
James Brokenshire: "Why would the UK want the EU's trade deals when we can make our own deals?" #marr
How about...
- The EU already has more than 40, covering 70+ countries including Japan
- We can't get better deals than theirs in many cases because of clauses in their deals.
- We have only managed to roll over deals with Chile and the Faroe Islands in the last 2.5 years. In the same period, the EU cemented deals with Japan and Singapore.
- Our bargaining power is much much less than the EU's (smaller market and population)
The EU has over 500 trade negotiators. We have a few dozens.
- Liam Fox
Read 5 tweets
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Edwin Hayward
@uk_domain_names
SR: "If we leave on March 29, is that it?"
Tony Blair: "Some people think you leave on 29 March, go into a long transition period, maybe try to rejoin during that time. I think what will happen once we leave is 'we're out'. And that will be it for a generation at least."
#ridge
He makes a very important point. Brexit Day is as final as a guillotine. Article 50 is very clear. We're OUT out, and all the EU's treaties and agreements cease to apply to us (absent any deals cobbled together to preserve aspects of them). Our only recourse would be Article 49.
And Article 49 isn't designed for speedy accession. There's no chance we could get readmitted to the EU during the transition period, even if we make maximum use of the permitted extensions. So readmission won't save us from the post-transition cliff edge.
Read 3 tweets
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Edwin Hayward
@uk_domain_names
EU citizens registering under the new EU settlement scheme will have to tell the Government every single time they change their mobile phone number, email address, name (fair enough, perhaps) or identity document. More stress, more red tape.
gov.uk/update-eu-sett…
The hidden problem with this is that the Goverment could use "discrepancies" to perpetuate a new immigration Hostile Environment any time it liked. For instance, what if it told employers or landlords "You *must* check those details and if they're not up to date" then👎.
Note too that they send a security verification code to your old mobile number or email address, so goodness knows what happens if both change. Oh, and you have to send your new identity document physically to them in the post. Good luck seeing it again any time soon.
Read 5 tweets

Related threads

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The Columnist
@Sime0nStylites
Chris Grayling interviewed first by Sophy Ridge - that should help the MV...
Refuses to admit the possibility of a Plan B. Nice.
Ah Seaborne Freight. Now the poster child for the uselessness of the government’s preparations.
Read 16 tweets
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Jim Pickard
@PickardJE
Seaborne Freight won’t have its new Ramsgate-Ostend service ready before April, several weeks after Brexit day, officials admitted during a private cross-departmental meeting of Whitehall officials on Monday - story here on @FT
ft.com/content/743b11…
the company isn’t exactly denying this:
Meanwhile it seems the company might have issued “inaccurate investor briefings” last year.

A document entitled “Seaborne Freight (UK) Limited — Investor Briefing April 2018”, claimed the company had “detailed port agreements with both Ramsgate and Ostend negotiated and agreed”.
Read 10 tweets
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Ian Dunt
@IanDunt
Chris Grayling can't even organise a fucking traffic jam.
I can't actually... It's really quite taxing, even in Brexit land, to fully comprehend the scale of the incompetence here. He just spent £48,950 of taxpayer money on a failed traffic jam.
On a fucking... I can't. I just can't.
Read 3 tweets
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John Bull
@garius
GRAYLING: PM says I'm in charge of this! How exciting!
CIV SERVANT: Right well we'll need ferries and
GRAYLING: I think we need to be more digital!
CIV SERVANT: Sorry what?
GRAYLING: Like 'digital railway'
SPAD: GREAT idea Minister!
GRAYLING: We can call it Dunkirk 2.0 /1#brexit
SPAD1: Dunkirk 2.0? That's inspired
SPAD2: Brilliant
GRAYLING: Thank you
CIV SERVANT: But what does it even mean?!
GRAYLING: It means... well Dunkirk isn't it?
SPAD1: It means taking back control!
SPAD2: It means brave little ships!
CIV SERVANT: Oh my god this is a madhouse. /2
GRAYLING: Do we really need the little ships?
SPAD1: Hmm
SPAD2: We could block-book Eurostar online instead?
GRAYLING: I LIKE that. It's digital AND railway
CIV SERVANT: What? But we need the ships! We need to move goods! OH MY GOD why am I defending the little ships thing?! /3
Read 6 tweets
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___________
@parking_seal
#Probablemente ([#EO]#probable🍀/[#EN]#Probably🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿)
Read 357 tweets
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Oliver Norgrove
@OliverNorgrove
Chris Grayling has touched upon a large part of the solution for Northern Ireland without actually realising it.
His assertion that the Irish border will be like the Norwegian/Swedish border is misguided though. There are two main reasons for this:
1) Trade flow and goods traffic across the NI/IE border is more intensive and 2) supply chains aren't all simple. Multiple crossings exist.
Read 9 tweets

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