I never thought I’d be able to say that Brexit had failed so quickly, as we supposedly ended up with a Brexit deal rather than “WTO, way to go”. But, already we are seeing the “hors d’ouevre” of Brexit. I have summarised just some of the early impacts, as Brexit reality meets satire. This is a long post so hold on to your butts.
Hotel California Brexit
It seems that the British people are fed up with Brexit – A recent report from The Guardian stated that Britons do not want continuous negotiations with the EU over Brexit. This failure to understand the complexities of international trade and co-operation infected the Brexit debate and it will not go away just because people wish it. In the words of some leave voters, Brits had better “get used to it”, especially as the obstacles to progress continue to come from the UK in the main. For example David Frost’s repeated demands to cancel the Brexit agreement which he signed. Such things simply frustrate the prospects of making the relationship work and it is plain that Brussels and the 27 states are getting tired of our repeated sabre rattling, done only to create the impression that Britannia rules the waves. Hotel California seems to describe Brexit well, as we keep wanting to change aspects of an agreement that we signed in haste so that Johnson could claim that Brexit was out of the oven.
Crocodile Dundee Brexit
Liz Truss’ much spun trade deal with Australia is worth just £1 per person per year. How will you spend it? A pack of Tim Tams perhaps? Against that backdrop, The National Farmer’s Union reports that the Australian Trade Deal will break British farming. Listen to Farming Today on Radio 4 which should now be renamed Brexit Carnage Today.
Rough Justice
In another massive climbdown from the promises of Brexit, hidden from view by COVID, Johnson’s Government has just agreed to accept jurisdiction from The European Court of Justice (ECJ). This was one of the cornerstones of Brexit – if you remember the idea of “taking back control” of our laws and so on. So far we have not taken back control of our borders either and we already had our own currency.
Frosty the No Man
Lord David Frost has just run scared from his role as Brexit negotiator, just ahead of January 1st 2021 when the grace period ends and we commence full customs checks and tariffs on imports and exports to the EU. This is expected to add on average an eye watering 11% to costs of goods entering the UK and will further exacerbate the near 5% inflation that is predicted for 2022 in the UK. This follows 4.2% inflation in 2021, an unprecedented figure with a major contribution from Brexit. Our predictions of stagflation are gradually coming true.
This twitter thread explains the carnage to come in January better than I can:
Ryanair have just abandoned the London Stock Exchange in preparation for Brexit. Expect more of this as Brexit Britain melts down.
Trussed up on Brexit Bollocks
Liz Truss has been lined up to succeed David Frost. Perhaps this an attempt by Johnson to ensure that “The Truss” does not manage to launch a leadership challenge, after all Brexit has already consumed five ministers. Or, perhaps it is intended to demonstrate the impossibility of Brexit due to Liz’s unprecedented levels of incompetence. Nonetheless, the DUP see Liz as an easy touch and have already begun to lobby her to invoke Article 16 and threaten peace and stability in Northern Ireland. Nice people! See Trussed up
Unmasking Brexit Carnage
In the months after Boris Johnson signed his post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union, COVID masked the economic damage of leaving the bloc. As the pandemic drags on, the cost is becoming clearer and voters are noticing. Goods trade with the EU was 15.7% lower to October 2018, in line with HM Government predictions.
The article above shows that Brexit has been a drag on growth. It brought new red tape on commerce between Britain and its largest and closest market, and removed a large pool of EU labour from the country on which many businesses had come to rely. The combination has exacerbated supply chain shortages, stoked inflation and hampered trade. In March 2020 I coined the phrase Britastrophe to describe the toxic combination of Corona crisis + Brexit disaster. It has literally allowed Johnson to mask Brexit:
Clapping for shortages
Still Johnson continues with distraction, dither and delay. This costs lives. I predict a new round of clapping soon …. What shortages did I miss?
Monday : Turkey farmers, postal workers and food pickers
Tuesday : Gas workers, plumbers, hospital porters and brewers
Wednesday : Foreign butchers, space scientists and food processing staff
Thursday : Foreign surgeons, opticians, researchers and podiatrists
Friday : Dentists, accountants, computer programming specialists, security staff
Saturday : Hospitality staff, customer service agents, warehouse staff, teachers
Sunday : Fork lift truck drivers, social carers, radiographers, distribution agents
We may have to double up on most days due to the number of sectors and people affected …
Killing in the name of Brexit
Brexit ideology kills. Plain and simple. Write to your MP to tell them.
So, here it is, merry Brexmas, everybody’s having fun. Look to the future. It’s only just begun …
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Brexitvisctermunal for these islands & we will be living with the fallout for decades UNLESS the opposition can unite, dislodge the tories & throw brexit into reverse.
Please join us on Zoom to Re-Boot Britain
Given the flexibility of Johnson’s mind, nay principles, morals and liberty, could he possibly consider that in order to retain the premiership he so highly values, he could yet stand humbly before his audience – when the percentage dictates – and admit brexit-defeat? Given his craving for adulation and his undeniable instinct for timing to achieve approval, it is not beyond the imagination that this conjurer of unbelievable feats would have no compunction in turning yet again to retain his thus far achieved glory…?
Thank you Maria