About a year ago we passed an act of parliament that says we shall keep EU laws.
If we want to trade with a member of the EU then any product has to comply with EU standards and be CE marked.
Our standards have been harmonised with EU standards for 20 years or more.
Our borders are open to all citizens of former commonwealth countries.
So come April 1st 2019 an English company is awarded a contract by a German company to build a pressure vessel for use in Lithuania. Cutting to the chase the onus is on the German company not to import a vessel that does not comply with Pressure Equipment Directive 97/23/EC.The onus is on the Lithuanians not to put into service a vessel that does not comply with Pressure Equipment Directive 97/23/EC.
"Comply or it don't 'appen squire". So much for being free of the European yoke!!! This obtains whatever the result of the present hokeycokey.
The present mess was predictable from the moment the courts upheld that parliament not the government had to agree,by vote, to the result of negotiations with the EU.
I agree with most of that, except for "The present mess was predictable from the moment the courts upheld that parliament not the government had to agree,by vote, to the result of negotiations with the EU."
TBH, I find that May really has tried to navigate through the chaos towards some kind of half-way house, but has made several huge mistakes along the way - the first of which was precipitating A50.
My observation is that there are so many factions within the government (currently Tory as we know), ranging from centrist to lala land.
However, I'm not at all convinced that a Labour government wouldn't have been just as divided.
No one seems to be adressing the underlying issues that caused people to vote for Brexit, many of which appear to be the fault of successive UK governments, of whichever flavour. At the same time, I don't know anyone who thinks the EU is perfect, but wouldn't it be better to continue to have seats at the table (72 MEPs), as opposed to none?
At least until some bright spark eventually finds how leaving could actually be beneficial to the UK?