1. Quick thread on the Customs Union. Just a small point to make.
2. Leaving the Customs Union wasn’t on the ballot paper. Nobody said a vote to leave was a vote to leave the Customs Union. There is no Andrew Marr footage of people saying that.
3. There is Andrew Marr footage, however, of Chris Grayling talking about the Turkey model. Turkey is in a (different) Customs Union with the EU.
4. A small reminder that Leave politicians didn’t really understand some basic terms, resulting on them not being very clear on certain issues. 
5. Or for that matter, the basic history and the EU law that ensures it can’t do what he said it did. (and it didn’t)
6. It is true, there was a Framework document that was “widely” covered by the media.
7. It doesn’t specify the customs union by name, but leaving the EU’s common commercial policy as stated can (only) be interpreted as such. 
8. It’s not the best way of saying it, but remember, Leave politicians are not known for their grasp of the EU, or of International trade policy.
9. Someone might say that’s the end, they made it clear that is what they wanted, but what Vote Leave said they wanted... and what was on the ballot paper... aren’t the same thing.
10. Michael Gove was asked twice if the details of the framework agreement were on the ballot paper, and both times he refused to commit them.
11. “So everything that we’ve talked about are policies that we could embark on, changes that we could make which would be beneficial to this country if we voted to leave.”
12. It *IS* fair comment to argue that one of the principles of the campaign was to make free trade agreements with the world. There is, actually a problem with that as an ambition which I have to save for another day, but it’s still a reasonable argument.
13. But equally we were told time, and time again, we would have a “British Model tailored to our needs”, and if things like the Customs Union solves some of our problems, then it shouldn’t be rejected on the basis that politicians say they said so.
Because: They didn’t.
Because: They didn’t.
14. They should be made to make a better justification that that. Otherwise they are just cherry-picking which part of the campaign people wanted. And should anyone really trust at face value the policy formulated by politicians who have demonstrated such poor understanding? /End 
