As the UK is now in the transition period -when we are bound by almost all EU law while having no say in it - time to re-post my piece pointing out the problems with it under the European Convention on Human Rights. prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/the-b…
Nothing has changed since I wrote it apart from length of the transition period (11 months, we are told).
That probably strengthens the counter-argument to my thesis (which is the unprincipled but pragmatic “it’s only a few months”).
It is still right, in my view, to say that the transition is too short (in the UK’s interests) to negotiate the complex sets of arrangements that it needs - not all of which are about trade: see also extradition; security cooperation; judicial cooperation in civil justice ...
And there’s a real risk of negotiating poor agreements because there’s no time to reflect or consult on often complex but important stuff (see my thread of yesterday evening for an example).
But in discussing whether transition could or should be extended it’s also important to remember just how much of an abomination the transition arrangements are, from any democratic perspective.
