Thread by @DavidHenigUK

Purely coincidental that last week I wrote about thawing UK-EU relations and what might come next, given the Conservative Party is now seemingly rerunning their Brexit wars, but immodestly I do think this worth a look to those reporting developments. encompass-europe.com/comment/a-new-…

No surprise that the CBI would point out business wants / needs strong EU ties, and the usually impressive DG Tony Danker is right that “the best guarantor of Brexit is an economy that grows” as well as the need to end the NI Protocol stand-off ft.com/content/ab2281…

There was a brief note in yesterday's Sunday Times report on UK-EU relations that Number 10 officials thought a Northern Ireland Protocol solution satisfying ERG and Commission was possible. Good luck, as they say, with that.

https://twitter.com/theousherwood/status/1594596168348073984

And as I said yesterday evening, Conservative Party splits on the EU appear to be between cakeists and fundamentalists, both ignoring the lessons of six and a half years. Realists are once again most notable by their absence.

https://twitter.com/DavidHenigUK/status/1594422930179432448

Maybe worth going back to some basics that we should have learned about trade and the EU relationship since 2016? Must confess #tradetwitter has not been altogether successful in establishing these in the face of fantasy international relations...

https://twitter.com/DavidHenigUK/status/1594083919028166656

I think these were the two key paragraphs of my article on evolving UK-EU relations. It may take a change of government to insert reality, except the Northern Ireland Protocol needs urgent attention. Hopes among Brexit veterans are not high... encompass-europe.com/comment/a-new-… /end

Extras... From Politico London Playbook - "Being a CPTPP member would make striking agreements with the EU more complicated." - not necessarily true.

From a May-era Advisor... not negotiable or supported (hence cakeist v fundamentalist)

https://twitter.com/RaoulRuparel/status/1594279858565160960?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_campaign=e58802a382-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_11_21_03_58&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10959edeb5-e58802a382-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

And a reminder that if the Conservative Party cannot agree a compromise on the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU, that also satisfies unionists, then probably no CPTPP accession, no Biden state visit. Which would be frankly, international political humiliation.

I know generally we prefer breathless accounts of which anonymous politician briefed who, but we'd really do better if it was understood that EU relations over the Northern Ireland Protocol is a central issue for government in the next 4 months, currently one without a solution.