Thread by @Jim_Cornelius

This Spectator article is really quite absurd as the following tweets will attest.

Here's the link to the online article.

spectator.co.uk/2018/02/17-rea…

After lobbying by Govts incl UK. The Council of the EU voted in 2016 to allow VAT flexibility. This was published as a Commission proposal on 18 Jan 2017.

europa.eu/rapid/press-re…

So this is taking back control of a power we'll already have by the end of the Transition Period.

I don't understand this at all. APD is a UK tax on domestic flights. The money goes to HMRC. It's nothing to do with the EU. A few other countries have a similar tax, but ours is the highest in Europe. Some other countries had it then abolished it.

afairtaxonflying.org/getthefacts/

This is just silly. With all the measures we have in place to try to prevent people killing themselves through smoking and drinking why would we want to allow people to buy loads of cheap booze and fags at the exchequer's expense?

Who benefits?

Yet more nonsense from the Spectator. The ECJ said it was a domestic issue and up to the Scottish courts to decide, who in turn said the Scottish Govt could go ahead. In November 2017 the BBC reported that the law would be enacted in May of this year.

theguardian.com/society/2016/o…

That should be: 18 Jan 2018.

Banning live animal exports? It's true the Single Market rules prohibit the ban as a barrier to trade. But so do WTO rules. USA lost WTO case when then banned importation of live seafood. This Ecologist article says Brexit will have the opposite effect.

theecologist.org/2017/sep/12/wi…

I'm sure there's more that needs checking but it's late. Those things I found on just a casual look at the first third of the article. Any other obvious problems with these Brexit "opportunities"?

One error. The date is first tweet should be Jan 2018. not 2017.

I'm going to add some more stuff to this thread. A couple of people have pointed out some other howlers in the article. I'll then probably redo these tweets once I've gone through the lot, correcting typos and updating with info people have told me. Might end up being a blog post

Few people under 40 understand the old measurements. I grew up when imperial measurements were on their way out and metric was on its way in.For my convenience retailers can display products using both measures if they wish. Who benefits displaying imperial only? No one.

VAT (aka GST) is vastly superior. That's why it's not just used in EU, but Japan, Russia S. America and basically everywhere bar USA. It provides an audit trail that doesn't exist with a simple sales tax. this is why it's adoption in US is under review.

hbs.edu/faculty/Public…

This is quite hypocritical. They're scraping the barrel to find use for our "new found freedom". The Spectator would be the first to howl if a Labour Government went down this path.

In reality 4th Rail Package does not prevent re-nationalisation at all.

labourlist.org/2017/07/from-t…

Cameron got a deal to cap the benefits paid. The problem with scrapping the allowance altogether is that it could end up costing us more because migrants might now prefer to bring their children into this country instead in order to receive full benefits.

theguardian.com/world/2016/feb…

It was Theresa May as Home Sec who introduced the legislation which means non-EU spouses can be deported if the British partner does not earn enough. This was widely criticised as cruel. I personally know a couple who exiled themselves to Spain due of it.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Another howler. The Government set the rules for this in the 1983 Medical Act. The General Medical Council already practise this right and set the test required to obtain a medical licence for all nationals from whatever country. Brexit changes nothing.

gmc-uk.org/doctors/regist…

We've always been 'allowed' to deport EU criminals, we've just not been tough enough. Since the Brexit vote UK Govt have actually increased the number of EU nationals, criminals among them, who have been deported without any change in the law whatsoever.

infacts.org/leave-camp-mak…