Brexit has well and truly begun!

[Venturi Swirl]

They might just be listening to those who shout the loudest. I don't think they realise how they are damaging their own and Parliament's credibility.

I see you think Remain leaning MPs are stupid sheeple. 

[Carana]

Not the same article, but similar, on sheep meat trade.

https://britishmeatindustry.org/industry/imports-exports/sheepmeat/

UK exports about a third  - 95/6 % the EU, mainly to France (45 - 55%) and some to Germany (10% +) - and imports a third (mainly from NZ (70%), Oz (15%) and the EU (10%). NZ and Oz have a deal with the EU with tariff-free quotas.

For Sunny as we worth both wondering:

Exports largely aim to address imbalances in demand for different cuts and the higher supply of sheep meat at certain times of year. Also, additional markets have had to be found to take items for which there is no or minimal demand on the domestic market, including offal and skins.


The UK exports mainly carcasses, plus offal, 2015 valued at £302m (which was lower than usual due to weak euro at the time). It imports mainly bone-in cuts.

Now to some of my questions on this:

There is a lot of talk around at the moment about Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), as if they are automatically a good thing.  However, there does need to be caution as we do not want the UK flooded with meat from other countries that is either not as well produced as UK meat or simply swamps the market with the concomitant negative impact on British farmers and meat processors.

Now Liam Fox is "mulling" over the idea of slashing UK tariffs - which would lead to the risk of market flooding, negatively affecting domestic producers.

Outside of a deal WTO tariffs would be around 50% depending on the product classification, affecting the competitivity of UK exports (although partially mitigated by the weak pound).

Add to that all the hassle and cost of certification, customs, transport, a potential lack of subsidies (as it's not clear where the gov would get the money from)...

[G-Unit]

I see you think Remain leaning MPs are stupid sheeple.

Looking at all MP's I don't see anything to admire, that's for sure. They voted to hold a referendum and then they voted to trigger Article 50. Since then they have done everything they can to stop the government from carrying out what they themselves made possible. Very clever.

[Venturi Swirl]

Looking at all MP's I don't see anything to admire, that's for sure. They voted to hold a referendum and then they voted to trigger Article 50. Since then they have done everything they can to stop the government from carrying out what they themselves made possible. Very clever.

I see, you’re now include the ERG MPs in that criticism are you?

[Carana]

According to David Davis, a Norway-style Brexit wasn't an option, because it "wouldn't respect the result of the referendum".
https://twitter.com/DavidDavisMP/status/1088860158330109952

I thought the ballot was simply to Remain or to Leave?

[G-Unit]

I see, you’re now include the ERG MPs in that criticism are you?

I said 'all' and that's what I meant. The whole sorry lot of them have made a laughing stock of themselves, our political process and the UK imo. 

[Venturi Swirl]

I said 'all' and that's what I meant. The whole sorry lot of them have made a laughing stock of themselves, our political process and the UK imo.

What should they have done then?

[Venturi Swirl]

According to David Davis, a Norway-style Brexit wasn't an option, because it "wouldn't respect the result of the referendum".
https://twitter.com/DavidDavisMP/status/1088860158330109952

I thought the ballot was simply to Remain or to Leave?

I remember pre referendum having heated debates with Leavers who cited Norway as the way to go, which struck me as odd as a Norway style deal still allows for FOM which was also their main bug bear at the time.  I don’t think any of them were really clear what they wanted apart from to stick two fingers up to the EU and the “metropolitan elites”.

[Carana]

I remember pre referendum having heated debates with Leavers who cited Norway as the way to go, which struck me as odd as a Norway style deal still allows for FOM which was also their main bug bear at the time.  I don’t think any of them were really clear what they wanted apart from to stick two fingers up to the EU and the “metropolitan elites”.

But that comes back to my point further up somewhere.  "Leave" meant so many different things to different people, including MPs.

You listen to those you respect for one reason or another, assuming that their points and the solutions are viable, then they're having to backtrack, and / or swan off into the sunset when it turns out that they were "fudging" the facts and didn't have any viable solutions in the first place.

[Carana]

A slightly disturbing sound-bite from Steve Baker (2013) on RT... that's it folks, pack your bags for Planet Zeta.

https://twitter.com/PropertySpot/status/1093080786729877505

[G-Unit]

What should they have done then?

Why did they pass the Referendim Bill?

[Venturi Swirl]

Why did they pass the Referendim Bill?

In order to hold a Referendum.  What should they have done after the result?  It's all well and good and giving a one sentence answer but as we can see now it's a teensy bit more complicate than just "leave the EU".  So what would YOU have done?

[G-Unit]

In order to hold a Referendum.  What should they have done after the result?  It's all well and good and giving a one sentence answer but as we can see now it's a teensy bit more complicate than just "leave the EU".  So what would YOU have done?

If MP's didn't want a referendum they should have opposed it as the SNP dtd.

[Venturi Swirl]

If MP's didn't want a referendum they should have opposed it as the SNP dtd.

They DID want a referendum, that's why they voted for it.  How many MPs have subsequently claimed they did not want a referendum, or do not respect the wishes of the electorate to leave the EU?  All of them???

[Carana]

If even Minford, of all people, pointed this out...


North East business and political leaders have hit out at a Brexit-supporting economist after he admitted leaving the EU would “mostly eliminate manufacturing”.

Professor Patrick Minford has been accused of “sacrificing jobs and livelihoods in the region” after saying an exit from Europe would leave Britain “mainly” with industries such as design and marketing.

During a visit to the region, Seema Malhotra, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said it would be a “huge risk” for the North East to vote to leave, while others have branded Professor Minford’s remarks “extraordinary”.

Professor Minford, of Cardiff Business School, has previously advocated “running down” the UK auto industry – which would include plants such as Sunderland’s Nissan.

Giving evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in 2012, he said: “It is perfectly true that if you remove protection of the sort that has been given particularly to the car industry and other manufacturing industries inside the protective wall, you will have a change in the situation facing that industry, and you are going to have to run it down.

“It will be in your interests to do it, just as in the same way we ran down the coal and steel industries. These things happen as evolution takes place in your economy.”

He went on to echo this statement in The Sun recently, writing: “Over time, if we left the EU, it seems likely that we would mostly eliminate manufacturing, leaving mainly industries such as design, marketing and hi-tech. But this shouldn’t scare us.

“Around half of young adults now go to university, ending up in professions such as finance or law, while the making of things such as car parts or carpentry has hugely shrunk — but there will always be jobs for people without sophisticated skills.

“Of course leaving the EU will be difficult, and something that needs careful negotiation, but we must completely withdraw to gain these benefits.”

The former adviser to Margaret Thatcher has said that if Britain does leave the EU, “transitional arrangements” should be made, lasting around 10 years, to help industries such as car manufacturing “adjust”.

But his opponents from the Remain campaign say Brexit would hit the North East economy hard.

Seema Malhotra, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was in the region on Thursday and said: “The North East is the nation’s exporter, the only region to deliver a trade surplus, home to Europe’s most productive car-maker and the newest train-builder.

“It would be a huge risk to leave the world’s largest trading bloc.”

Julie Elliott, MP for Sunderland Central, said: “It is astonishing that Professor Minford advocates Brexit while acknowledging that it ‘would mostly eliminate manufacturing’.

“It is clear that the future of the North East’s manufacturing jobs is dependent on our continued membership of the European Union.”

Anna Turley, MP for Redcar, added: “The North East economy is built on manufacturing and the export of goods to the European market and this sustains hundreds of thousands of skilled, well paid jobs.

“Mr Minford seems content to sacrifice these jobs and livelihoods in our region in return for focusing on service industries, a sector which does not produce the same standard of employment.”

Mike Matthews, European Operations Officer at Stockton’s Nifco, said: “I do agree with Patrick Minford on one point – that Brexit would mean the UK’s manufacturing industry would mostly disappear.

“Typically, the pattern of global manufacturers, especially automotive, is make the car where the car is sold, establish the supply chain where the end product is sold – and being in the EU supports this.

“Who would invest in a market of 60million potential customers with potential trade barriers when there’s a market of 500million in the EU with no barriers to face?

“And then how would that gap left by manufacturing be filled? What would replace it as an engine for growth?”
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/mps-react-after-vote-leave-11269819