Quote:
Originally Posted by Ignitionnet
I'm afraid a major, major problem is that making decisions in line with the wishes of the people doesn't necessary go alongside getting the economy back on an even keel, investing in the right things or developing global trade.
One of the most unpopular policies from the last election was intended to get the economy back on an even keel and people rarely vote for tax rises or spending cuts.
As far as what we do best goes the world is very, very different from the pre-EEC days, the UK economy is very, very different and what our trade partners want from us is very, very different.
It's also debatable whether the will of the people as it stands now is pro-globalisation.
Are you in favour of the UK going along the lines of Singapore, would you prefer the UK to become more of a social democracy, or do you envisage it remaining roughly as it is in terms of the balance between state and private sector, and the level of regulation?
The words sound great, what is your vision to achieve them?
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We all know that austerity measures have been unpopular, but they have succeeded in reducing our deficit by about three quarters. This was necessary, because until that deficit is eliminated, the interest we are paying on that colossal sum will continue to increase. It would have been better to have continued with Osbourne's original plan for that reason, but the Government bowed to public pressure and eased off, which means of course that there will be even more debt to repay by the time the deficit is eliminated.
I do not disagree that much has changed since pre-EEC days, but the principles of free trade are still there, in fact many tariffs that used to be imposed have been eliminated or reduced. The EU has restricted our ability to trade freely and make new deals and these shackles will be removed when we get out.
The public voted to leave the EU. That also means leaving the Common Market and the Customs Union, because unless we do this, we cannot control immigration and we cannot make our own trade deals. That would contradict the logic of leaving and this half way house would be a shocking disappointment and a disaster for this country.
All this talk about a Singapore type country emerging from all this is hype and complete overkill. The reason the Government has unleashed the potential of such an arrangement is to bring the EU to its senses sooner rather than later in the negotiation. We would only have that outcome if the EU folded its arms and refused to negotiate. But the point is, they
will negotiate, because it is in our joint interests to do so. We are only in the posturing stage at the moment, and after the German elections, we can look forward to Angela Merkel taking a firm steer on these negotiations which will result in a sensible outcome.
The thing that many remainers can't get their heads around is that a deal with the EU is by far the most likely outcome and that Britain will benefit both from being able to trade on reasonable terms with the EU and make its own trade deals while at the same time controlling immigration and making our own laws.
The thought of Britain behaving a la Singapore right on their doorstep frightens the EU to death because that would introduce huge unwelcome competition that obviously they wouldn't want. They would also be putting their own economies at risk and increasing unemployment if the EU introduced tariffs to reduce their trade with us.
This is why David Davis has a permanent grin on his face. Unless the EU is completely bonkers, he knows they will capitulate eventually. If Canada can do a trade deal without suffering huge EU encumbrancies, and other countries all over the world can also do so without trade deals, then so can we.
The only real question that remains, stripping away all the hype, is how long the transition period will be (and this depends on the result of the negotiation because until we know what is agreed, we don't know what the length of that period will be) and the price of the divorce bill. And that will be based on legal obligations and a fair price to get a good settlement.