Cont: Brexit: Now What? Part 5

[Lothian]

It's a pathetic half-baked fudge. I'm slightly surprised that May has the cheek to suggest it.

I thought it was what you wanted.

It is an electronic system that knows the final destination of goods and applies duties accordingly. That means

1 No hard border in NI
2. The UK out of the Customs union and able to negotiate its own trade deals.

Which do you object to, the lack of a hard border or leaving the CU?

 

[ponderingturtle]

Jaguar Land Rover boss: Brexit threatens £80bn UK investment

Jaguar Land Rover has warned that a "bad" Brexit deal would threaten £80bn worth of investment plans for the UK and may force it to close factories.

The UK's biggest carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors, said its "heart and soul is in the UK".

But without frictionless trade JLR said its UK investment plans would be in jeopardy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44719656

But Brexit means Brexit and apparently driving out such foreign companies like Jaguar Land Rover.

The new motto is British Cars for British people, none of that pesky exporting or importing of them.

 

[The Don]

But Brexit means Brexit and apparently driving out such foreign companies like Jaguar Land Rover.

The new motto is British Cars for British people, none of that pesky exporting or importing of them.

Well that would greatly simplify any issues of conforming to global automotive standards.....

 

[GlennB]

Unbelievable

Theresa May's grand plan for customs post-Brexit is a combination of the two schemes deemed unworkable. It's like someone pointing out that you cannot go down a set of river rapids in either a submarine or a square-rigged sailing ship and declaring "well then, we shall use a square-rigged submarine !".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44719576

No Mrs May, it combines the worst features of both the previous schemes, forcing much of the effort and cost onto export businesses who will already be hard pressed trying to stay in business and relying on imaginary technology to deliver a solution - whilst still requiring some kind of hard border in, or around Ireland to keep foreigners out.

Can anyone else see the problem of only having a partial solution in place by the end of the transition period ?

And anyway, unless a "partial solution" is government code for "whatever tiny bits of progress have been made by then", the idea that something as complicated as this can be implemented, tested and thoroughly de-glitched in two years is absolutely laughable - even for a partial solution.

The incompetence and complacency is both laughable and frightening at the same time.

And the 'plan' appears to have been rejected by David Davis.

I've given up saying 'unbelievable' when it comes to Trump or the Cabinet's Brexit plans, but ...

 

[The Don]

And the 'plan' appears to have been rejected by David Davis.

Well to be honest, that might actually work in its favour

 

[The Don]

And the 'plan' appears to have been rejected by David Davis.

I've given up saying 'unbelievable' when it comes to Trump or the Cabinet's Brexit plans, but ...

A snippet from the Grauniad article:

Downing Street indicated that under the plan tracking devices would be used to determine where the goods would ultimately end up, and therefore whether UK or EU tariffs should be paid.

That assumes that there is something

• Is a physical thing that can be tracked as opposed to a service
• Is sufficiently large to attach a tracker to
• Is sufficiently valuable to warrant tracking individually

 

[3point14]

Sounds cheap.

 

[The Don]

Sounds cheap.

I also don't know whether it addresses the issue of ensuring that things imported into the UK from non-EU countries and then subsequently exported to the EU, either directly or as part of an added-value good, meet EU specifications and requirements because UK standards will diverge.

Which also sounds cheap

 

[Wudang]

It also assumes the existence of infrastructure to preserve the integrity of the tracking. Or do we just contract that out to the highly reliable G4S etc?

 

[Dave Rogers]

It's like someone pointing out that you cannot go down a set of river rapids in either a submarine or a square-rigged sailing ship and declaring "well then, we shall use a square-rigged submarine !".

Apologies for the minor derail, but I think I've just decided on a steampunk modelling project.

Dave

 

[The Don]

More Brexit "good" news.

While the government seems to at least be trying when it comes to the customs arrangements for goods, no such luck when it comes to services.

As Downing Street sets out details of a possible post-Brexit customs arrangement, one of the suggestions that has emerged about the government's plans for the UK's future economic relationship with the EU is that it may try - in effect - to stay in the single market for goods, but have a much looser relationship for services.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44724376

Lest anyone think that it's no big deal:

• The service sector is the largest in the UK economy
• It has significant added value
• It's highly portable so can more easily be relocated to inside the EU
• It operates a significant trade surplus with the EU
• The EU is eager to take a bite out of it, especially financial services

 

[catsmate]

On the technology front an assessment of current government tech projects.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/07/04/ipa_report_home_office_projects_undeliverable_and_risky/

tl;dr : More red flags than May Day in Moscow.

I've worked on a few of them...

It's nice to see that the Airwave replacement will be worse; most of us simply didn't believe that would be possible.

 

[Hellbound]

Unbelievable

Theresa May's grand plan for customs post-Brexit is a combination of the two schemes deemed unworkable. It's like someone pointing out that you cannot go down a set of river rapids in either a submarine or a square-rigged sailing ship and declaring "well then, we shall use a square-rigged submarine !".

Actually, it sounds like they'll use a submarine sailing ship instead.

 

[Information Analyst]

Apologies for the minor derail, but I think I've just decided on a steampunk modelling project.

It's been done.

 

[Dave Rogers]

It's been done.

But of course the Americans did it better.

Dave

 

[GlennB]

As messes go, the Cons are Olympic champs right now, with a Nobel prize for mess on top.

What odds a leadership election / general election before the end of the year?

 

[P.J. Denyer]

But Brexit means Brexit and apparently driving out such foreign companies like Jaguar Land Rover.

The new motto is British Cars for British people, none of that pesky exporting or importing of them.

Hhmmm cars for the folk of Britian, we need a catchy name for these "folks waggons". Any ideas?

 

[Andy_Ross]

Good idea, let's go back to the era of British cars.

Let's see, what were we producing?

Alegro, Ital, Marina ...

 

[The Don]

Apparently the cabinet has a duty to approve the Brexit plan.

Former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who campaigned to stay in the EU, said any ministers who do not like the deal agreed on Friday should consider resigning from cabinet, rather than "undermining" it afterwards

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44728807

What a way to operate from strength. No matter how bad the plans, and no matter how good the reasons to criticise them might be, anyone with the principles to explain why should resign rather than express their doubts.

This "democratic deficit" seems to be getting worse. Not letting parliament examine and vote on the Brexit deal is bad enough but now Theresa May seems to be pushing for the cabinet having no say either.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Ministers that resign at Chequers will have their official cars withdrawn immediately and will have to make their own arrangements to return home.

Petty much?