Thread by @jonworth

1/ I'm slowly getting back into #Brexit stuff after time off in the last week or so.

I'm starting with David Davis's Telegraph piece from a couple of days ago: telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/0…

A quick thread about it.

2/ The title is interesting - it is: "How we will deliver the best Brexit in 2018". Davis's piece does not come close to answering that. The piece would more accurately be entitled "What I think the best Brexit looks like in 2018 (without asking the EU what they'd accept)"

3/ There's a bit of nerdy stuff at the start. I quote: "Donald Tusk has approved an immediate start to initial discussions on the future relationship (...) talks about the implementation period begin early in the New Year" I assume he means "Transition Period"?

4/ It was actually the EU-27 that gave the go ahead, not Tusk, but hell, what's a little technical difference like that to the man leading the most complicated and technical negotiation there has ever been in 🇬🇧-🇪🇺 relations? 🤷‍♂️

5/ "we will begin a deep and open exploratory dialogue to discover a new, mutually acceptable point of balance in our relationship with the EU" Says something mutual is possible. But the 🇪🇺 view is known. 🇬🇧 to choose from 🇪🇺's menu options it wants. Unilateral alignment?

6/ "the Prime Minister proposed a period of around two years in which Britain leaves the EU but maintains the key rights of the single market and customs union (...) meaning agreement by March is doable." Agreement on how Transition will work by March. 🥧 in 🌄 IMHO.

7/ "Much is said about the lack of certainty about the future relationship (...) Brexit will allow us to take control of our borders, our money and our laws (...) an independent trade policy to strike deals with other countries from around the world." YES. We know that by now.

8/ But those are aims. Remember the title of the article - HOW is the 🇬🇧 to get there? What price is 🇬🇧 willing to pay to get itself there? We still have no idea whatsoever about that.

9/ "the Commission themselves say that the vast majority of future global growth will come from outside Europe, it makes sense for Britain to place itself at the cutting edge of new technologies and the regulatory regimes they will require" None of those will come FROM 🇪🇺?

10/ "The emphasis here must always be on raising standards. There is no route to prosperity in trying to become cheaper than China, or in undermining the safety standards which give confidence to British goods." Working Time rules safe then? 🤷‍♂️ theconversation.com/tory-attack-on…

11/ "It would therefore be inconsistent to have a situation where we are outside the EU but bound by its every rule and regulation.

12/ (...) Our approach is simple: we are looking at the full sweep of economic cooperation that currently exists and determining how that can be maintained with the minimum additional barriers or friction" Good luck with that!

13/ "Currently a car produced in Europe, for sale in the UK, only has to undergo one series of approvals (...) I see no reason why, with the right relationship, such mutual recognition should not continue after we leave." Ah. But what if it isn't all fine and dandy?

14/ Imagine - say - #LandRoverGate rather than Volkswagen's #DieselGate. How are you going to legally solve that? It's not mentioned by Davis but there's that pesky ECJ on the horizon once more.

15/ "so long as it is understood that this involves working together, not simply rule taking" Oh right. Let's have a land of 🥛 and 🍯.

16/ "Given the strength and breadth of our links, a deal which took in some areas of our economic relationship but not others would be, in the favoured phrase of EU diplomats, cherry picking." Barnier will be 🤣 at that! 🇪🇺 is offering the 🇬🇧 something like CETA.

17/ "I understand when people say that the first responsibility for proposing solutions to the conundrums presented by Brexit lie on the British side." Oh! Thanks for that. In an article full of aims but solving no conundrum.

18/ "But I believe they will be successful, because the future of the Europe continent is best served by strong and successful relationships." Thanks again! *believe* indeed, because faith is what's needed given the enduring lack of proper planning on the 🇬🇧 side! /ends