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Peter Foster Profile picture
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29 Jan, 6 tweets, 3 min read
Fascinating. David Frost, the former UK Brexit negotiator, will no longer be National Security Adviser - MoD PermSec Sir Stephen Ludgrove gets the gig.
Which is obviously good news, since he has a background in er, defence and security /1

gov.uk/government/new…
Here's the appt from June 28 last year - a move which dismayed Whitehall, since his background didn't qualify him for the job. Frost, who did get a peerage for his efforts, will now be "Representative for Brexit and International Policy" /2

gov.uk/government/new…
Not entirely clear yet what that means, but one suspects it might be "Captain of Global Britain" or, if you were cynical, lightning conductor complaints over sovereigntist #Brexit deal that Frost negotiated, so can hardly disown /3
It perhaps also speaks to slight dawning of reality in Downing Street as it tries to forge workable relatinship with @JoeBiden - I mean check the resume of Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Advisor...could you really put "the Brexit guy" across the table from him? /4
@JoeBiden Feels a bit harsh on David Frost who did indeed land @BorisJohnson the Canada-style deal he asked for - although now the PM seems strangely reluctant to rejoice the non-tariff barriers such a deal would create /5
@JoeBiden @BorisJohnson But no matter, because now he has Lord Frost, "Prime Minister’s Representative on Brexit and International Policy" to explain it to everyone. Any awkward questions? Just ask Lord Frost. ENDS

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More from @pmdfoster

Peter Foster Profile picture
29 Jan
Nationalist/SDLP moves to condemn @EU_Commission move to invoke Article 16 - an utterly cloth-eared move. /1
@EU_Commission A real slap in the face for those trying to make Protocol work - now UK has perfect excuse to push for those derogations that supermarkets asked for to make Protocol work. /2
@EU_Commission UK spokesperson as @michaelgove has been on phone with @MarosSefcovic to "express the UK’s concern over a lack of notification from the EU about its actions in relation to the NI protocol"...and added that U.K. "would now be carefully considering next steps"./3
Read 4 tweets
Peter Foster Profile picture
27 Jan
🚨🇪🇺🇬🇧🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🇬🇧🇪🇺🚨More than 100,000 British pigs stranded by #Brexit border problems - @JudithEvans1 and me for @FinancialTimes ...so what’s going on? /1

on.ft.com/3qUDAkt
@JudithEvans1 @FinancialTimes So the problems are being caused by the difficulties in getting pigs to market in the EU - that means animals that should be being slaughtered are being left on farms. And that costs farmers money to feed animals that should be slaughtered & in shops /2
@JudithEvans1 @FinancialTimes So. Norfolk Pig farmer Rob Mutimer from @Swanningtonfarm tells me he has 2,000 extra pigs on his farm!

Mostly those are pigs read for slaughter (they should be killed at 80kg, but are now at 100kg) AND about 70 old sows that should be off to EU (Germany) to become salami /3
Read 11 tweets
Peter Foster Profile picture
25 Jan
NEW: 🚨🇪🇺🇬🇧🚛🚚🍤🐟🚢🇬🇧🇪🇺🚨 Building of Brexit border posts faces delays via...industry calling for delay to July 1 U.K. #brexit border roll out - my latest via ⁦@FinancialTimes⁩ on.ft.com/3c7bUow
@FinancialTimes This goes back to last year, when UK gov got £430m of bids for new Border Control Posts and only funded £194m worth - and those bids that won took a 33pc 'haircut'. Result, everyone unhappy - those that got nothing, and those that won, got not enough /2

ft.com/content/2a6662…
@FinancialTimes The result is that ports looking to build BCPs to accommodate new border coming in from July 1 say they haven't got enough money. They want either delays to border on July 1, or flexible implementation. /3
Read 10 tweets
Peter Foster Profile picture
25 Jan
So what does levelling up even mean? And how has #COVID19 reshaped the challenge?

Tl;dr its no-longer a north-south divide issue.

Report out today from @CentreforCities which @FinancialTimes covers here:
#CitiesOutlook2021 /1

ft.com/content/cb3ae4…
@CentreforCities @FinancialTimes First how do you define 'levelling up challenge' - the government hasn't really, beyond some aspirational waffle....so the @CentreforCities uses a rough measure by comparing benefit 'claimant count' with national average. See this. /2
You can see in March 2020, before pandemic impacts were visible, cities such as Hull, Birmingham, Blackpool and Bradford clearly topping the tables and most in need of 'levelling up'.../3
Read 7 tweets
Peter Foster Profile picture
22 Jan
🚨🇬🇧🇪🇺🚛🍤🐟🥬📦✈️🇬🇧🇪🇺🚨
So here it is. After the euphoria, the @FinancialTimes @FTMag long read of how @BorisJohnson did his Trade deal with the EU. Tl:dr...not so much “build back better”, more “build back the borders” - stay with me/1. on.ft.com/3c0vhPX
@FinancialTimes @FTMag @BorisJohnson The really under-appreciated part of this story is the extent to which the Johnson government, having won its 80 seat majority promising to "Get Brexit Done" then explicitly and actively chose the hardest possible version of #brexit in defiance of commercial interests /2
@FinancialTimes @FTMag @BorisJohnson Our story begins in January last year when David Frost commenced what Whitehall insiders call a "Star Chamber" process to strip away anything that might be considered more than a "Canada-style" deal - regardless of the fact that UK doesn't trade with EU like Canada! /3
Read 21 tweets
Peter Foster Profile picture
21 Jan
The UK refusing to give full diplomatic status the EU's mission in London is baffling at at time when @BorisJohnson is trying to connect with @JoeBiden - because it recalls what Trump administration did to the EU ambassador back in 2019. Stay with me/1

ft.com/content/84042c…
@BorisJohnson @JoeBiden The spat has been going for a while - we reported it in May, when the #Brexit trade talks were getting testy and - I assumed - it was the UK seeking a bit of leverage as the talks progressed. But we have a deal...and still no deal on the EU mission/2

ft.com/content/21b926…
@BorisJohnson @JoeBiden Essentially the UK government wants to treat the @EUdelegationUK as a "international organisation based in London" - and not accord it full diplomatic status, as almost every other country in the world does, including the United States /3
Read 13 tweets

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