The Brexit Thread

[tabascoboy]

UK halts trade negotiations with Canada over hormones in beef ban

The UK has stopped its trade talks with Canada, after nearly two years on a post-Brexit agreement, following a row over beef and cheese.

Trade between the two countries currently takes place under the terms of a deal the UK rolled over from its time as an EU member.

A time-limited agreement allowed the UK to continue to sell cars and cheese without high import taxes.

But talks about extending these as part of a new deal have now broken down.

It marks the first time the UK has formally suspended talks with a trade partner since formally leaving the EU trading regime in 2021.

It will also mean the UK's trading terms with Canada will now be worse than when it was part of the EU's deal with the country.

Canada's government had been facing political pressure from domestic cheese producers.

It had also been pushing for the UK to relax a ban on hormone-treated beef, which its producers say effectively shuts them out of the British market.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68098177

Well this isn't a bad hill to die on TBH, have to assume they were banned by the EU for good reasons and we aren't going to overturn that just because "sovereignty freedom innit!"

[fishfoodie]

France blocks plan to scrap 90-day visa rule for British expats

Blow for second home owners as amendment to immigration bill deemed unconstitutional

A French court has blocked efforts to allow British expats to stay in the country for longer than 90 days without a visa.

France’s Constitutional Council today rejected an amendment to the immigration bill that would allow long-stay visas to be automatically issued to British nationals who own a second home in France because it deemed it unconstitutional.

The amendment would have allowed British homeowners in France to spend as much time as they wish in the country after Brexit.

But the amendment’s defeat means all British nationals – including those with a home in France – are only be able to stay 90 days out of every 180 in the country without a visa. If they want to stay longer, Britons have to apply for a temporary long-stay visa of up to six months.

There is no right of appeal against the Constitutional Council, so the decision is final.

Martine Berthet, a French senator representing the Savoie area in the Alps, tabled the amendment to these rules in November after receiving complaints from British second home owners in her region.

Ms Berthet said last year that keeping British citizens from contributing to France’s local economies would just add to an already-rising number of vacant properties in tourist areas.

The defeat of the amendment is a blow to thousands and comes after the number of Britons house-hunting in France has surged six-fold since the law to an “automatic” right to remain in the country was first mooted.

Data from the UK-based international property portal Kyero showed that in the three weeks after the amendment was tabled, there was a 582pc increase in Britons enquiring about French properties on the site.

Jason Porter, a director at tax specialists Blevins Franks, said: “The element [to the immigration bill] for UK second home owners was always going to be rejected as it was not treating everyone equally as it does not apply for the other 61 countries eligible for visa entry into France.”
....

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/prope ... sh-expats/

<Press the Escape key before page loads to avoid Paywall>

I wonder how many mugs bought properties on the basis of the thin possibility that the French needed them, more then they need the French ?

[Biffer]

UK halts trade negotiations with Canada over hormones in beef ban

The UK has stopped its trade talks with Canada, after nearly two years on a post-Brexit agreement, following a row over beef and cheese.

Trade between the two countries currently takes place under the terms of a deal the UK rolled over from its time as an EU member.

A time-limited agreement allowed the UK to continue to sell cars and cheese without high import taxes.

But talks about extending these as part of a new deal have now broken down.

It marks the first time the UK has formally suspended talks with a trade partner since formally leaving the EU trading regime in 2021.

It will also mean the UK's trading terms with Canada will now be worse than when it was part of the EU's deal with the country.

Canada's government had been facing political pressure from domestic cheese producers.

It had also been pushing for the UK to relax a ban on hormone-treated beef, which its producers say effectively shuts them out of the British market.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68098177

Well this isn't a bad hill to die on TBH, have to assume they were banned by the EU for good reasons and we aren't going to overturn that just because "sovereignty freedom innit!"

If they're doing it out of that principle (no hormone beef). I would think it's more likely that they view the hormone in beef regulations as critical leverage in any future negotiations with the US though, so don't want to throw that card away.

[fishfoodie]

UK halts trade negotiations with Canada over hormones in beef ban

The UK has stopped its trade talks with Canada, after nearly two years on a post-Brexit agreement, following a row over beef and cheese.

Trade between the two countries currently takes place under the terms of a deal the UK rolled over from its time as an EU member.

A time-limited agreement allowed the UK to continue to sell cars and cheese without high import taxes.

But talks about extending these as part of a new deal have now broken down.

It marks the first time the UK has formally suspended talks with a trade partner since formally leaving the EU trading regime in 2021.

It will also mean the UK's trading terms with Canada will now be worse than when it was part of the EU's deal with the country.

Canada's government had been facing political pressure from domestic cheese producers.

It had also been pushing for the UK to relax a ban on hormone-treated beef, which its producers say effectively shuts them out of the British market.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68098177

Well this isn't a bad hill to die on TBH, have to assume they were banned by the EU for good reasons and we aren't going to overturn that just because "sovereignty freedom innit!"

If they're doing it out of that principle (no hormone beef). I would think it's more likely that they view the hormone in beef regulations as critical leverage in any future negotiations with the US though, so don't want to throw that card away.

Hasn't that ship sailed ?

I mean you gave the Ozzies carte blanche to ship hormone riddled beef to the UK in their deal, & it's not like their hormones are any better that the ones the US or Canada uses ?

I'd say it's more about placating the farmers prior to the GE. They've sold out them, & their sons & daughters, but they won't sell out their grandchildren ...... yet

[dpedin]

My thinking is that the Gov have gone ahead, at the 5th time of asking, with the border controls on EU goods at the end of this month because they are still planning on a May election and they hope the inflationary and supply chain impact won't be felt until a few months later once the election is out of the way. In this way the consequences will be Labour's to manage, salting the earth in retreat!

[petej]

My thinking is that the Gov have gone ahead, at the 5th time of asking, with the border controls on EU goods at the end of this month because they are still planning on a May election and they hope the inflationary and supply chain impact won't be felt until a few months later once the election is out of the way. In this way the consequences will be Labour's to manage, salting the earth in retreat!

Sounds a bit advanced for them. More likely been forced by the EU and others. Some of this is quite easy to reverse with pretty quick benefit to the economy for an incoming government.

[fishfoodie]

My thinking is that the Gov have gone ahead, at the 5th time of asking, with the border controls on EU goods at the end of this month because they are still planning on a May election and they hope the inflationary and supply chain impact won't be felt until a few months later once the election is out of the way. In this way the consequences will be Labour's to manage, salting the earth in retreat!

Sounds a bit advanced for them. More likely been forced by the EU and others. Some of this is quite easy to reverse with pretty quick benefit to the economy for an incoming government.

Yeah, an easy win is to agree to harmonize on veterinary rules, that any UK divergences can only be to have stricter rules than the EU. Just that step will remove a huge cost on exporters.

There are other measures like ditching the moronic idea to have a separate Chemical registry, & Quality mark, which industry have wasted billions on, & no-one actually wants

[fishfoodie]

I'd say a lot of better halfs will be getting daffodil bouquets this Valentines, so boys you'd better make it up to them with a good restaurant !

The Dutch flower companies were all begging the Tories to push back the new checks, because they're anticipating carnage at the ferry ports at their busiest time of the year

[petej]

My thinking is that the Gov have gone ahead, at the 5th time of asking, with the border controls on EU goods at the end of this month because they are still planning on a May election and they hope the inflationary and supply chain impact won't be felt until a few months later once the election is out of the way. In this way the consequences will be Labour's to manage, salting the earth in retreat!

Sounds a bit advanced for them. More likely been forced by the EU and others. Some of this is quite easy to reverse with pretty quick benefit to the economy for an incoming government.

Yeah, an easy win is to agree to harmonize on veterinary rules, that any UK divergences can only be to have stricter rules than the EU. Just that step will remove a huge cost on exporters.

There are other measures like ditching the moronic idea to have a separate Chemical registry, & Quality mark, which industry have wasted billions on, & no-one actually wants

Picked two things that I deal with frequently. The thrill of changing documents and processes to UK REACH instead of EU REACH and everyone still uses the ECHA website. With safety data sheets still treat EU ones as being the same as UK ones as many companies haven't updated them.

[dpedin]

My thinking is that the Gov have gone ahead, at the 5th time of asking, with the border controls on EU goods at the end of this month because they are still planning on a May election and they hope the inflationary and supply chain impact won't be felt until a few months later once the election is out of the way. In this way the consequences will be Labour's to manage, salting the earth in retreat!

Sounds a bit advanced for them. More likely been forced by the EU and others. Some of this is quite easy to reverse with pretty quick benefit to the economy for an incoming government.

Yeah, an easy win is to agree to harmonize on veterinary rules, that any UK divergences can only be to have stricter rules than the EU. Just that step will remove a huge cost on exporters.

There are other measures like ditching the moronic idea to have a separate Chemical registry, & Quality mark, which industry have wasted billions on, & no-one actually wants

Yes but if next Labour in Gov do all of this, which they have to, then it will be portrayed by the Tories as Labour selling out on Brexit and the will of the people, giving into the EU and a first step to rejoining the EU. The whole Brexit thing will once again become the vehicle for the increasingly right wing Tory Twats again to fight the following election on and to stir up even more populist nonsense ie if only they had been allowed to implement Brexit properly by the woke, aubergine eating illiterati when they were in power, etc etc then they would still be in power - it was Labour, the judges, the courts, leftie lawyers, the woke blob, the north London elite, the secret Gates/Soros funded think tanks, etc who are to blame for surrendering the UK Sovereignty.

[petej]

Sounds a bit advanced for them. More likely been forced by the EU and others. Some of this is quite easy to reverse with pretty quick benefit to the economy for an incoming government.

Yeah, an easy win is to agree to harmonize on veterinary rules, that any UK divergences can only be to have stricter rules than the EU. Just that step will remove a huge cost on exporters.

There are other measures like ditching the moronic idea to have a separate Chemical registry, & Quality mark, which industry have wasted billions on, & no-one actually wants

Yes but if next Labour in Gov do all of this, which they have to, then it will be portrayed by the Tories as Labour selling out on Brexit and the will of the people, giving into the EU and a first step to rejoining the EU. The whole Brexit thing will once again become the vehicle for the increasingly right wing Tory Twats again to fight the following election on and to stir up even more populist nonsense ie if only they had been allowed to implement Brexit properly by the woke, aubergine eating illiterati when they were in power, etc etc then they would still be in power - it was Labour, the judges, the courts, leftie lawyers, the woke blob, the north London elite, the secret Gates/Soros funded think tanks, etc who are to blame for surrendering the UK Sovereignty.

That bullshit has worn pretty thin with the population. It is widely accepted as a massive turd. I don't think i've heard anyone admit to voting for it for a long time. They are going to flail about and stir up populist nonsense regardless. The subtleties of harmonizing rules won't register with most of the population.

[dpedin]

Yeah, an easy win is to agree to harmonize on veterinary rules, that any UK divergences can only be to have stricter rules than the EU. Just that step will remove a huge cost on exporters.

There are other measures like ditching the moronic idea to have a separate Chemical registry, & Quality mark, which industry have wasted billions on, & no-one actually wants

Yes but if next Labour in Gov do all of this, which they have to, then it will be portrayed by the Tories as Labour selling out on Brexit and the will of the people, giving into the EU and a first step to rejoining the EU. The whole Brexit thing will once again become the vehicle for the increasingly right wing Tory Twats again to fight the following election on and to stir up even more populist nonsense ie if only they had been allowed to implement Brexit properly by the woke, aubergine eating illiterati when they were in power, etc etc then they would still be in power - it was Labour, the judges, the courts, leftie lawyers, the woke blob, the north London elite, the secret Gates/Soros funded think tanks, etc who are to blame for surrendering the UK Sovereignty.

That bullshit has worn pretty thin with the population. It is widely accepted as a massive turd. I don't think i've heard anyone admit to voting for it for a long time. They are going to flail about and stir up populist nonsense regardless. The subtleties of harmonizing rules won't register with most of the population.

There is still a hard core of Brexit nutters plus the emphasis will shift from trade and business to protecting our borders and letting Johnny Foreigner back in, regardless of the rise in both illegal and legal immigration since Brexit! The right wing press and media will have a field day with every single loosening of the Brexit self harm rules and regulations and the sizable percentage of racist Little Englanders will be swayed by the bullshit. Everything that will go wrong with the economy and society post the next GE and Labour coming into power (much of which will be caused by the land mines the Tories have left) will be laid to blame at the woke left going back on Brexit. 'Lets do Brexit properly' will be their slogan and many will fall for it - they have few brain cells, short memories and inbred racist tendencies.

[fishfoodie]

Not releasing the DUP, "Deal", until after PMQs, suggests that the Head boy has just done the Mother & Father of U-Turns on regulatory divergence !

It's the only way he can make the promises he's made to the DUP, & not have the EU start a Trade war.

He knows this, & Donaldson knows this, & after a couple of days the reality will break thru the thick skulls of the ERG & their fellow travellers.

He's treading a very fine line with the EU, because Tory promises are less than worthless in Brussels, so if he starts writing laws to allow Ministers to selectively break Treaties, but promise that he'd never actually use them, I don't think the EU can accept that.

[fishfoodie]

As suspected, all smoke, no fire.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... er__1_.pdf

The DUP must have been really rattled by the feedback from the massive strike last week, for Donaldson to accept another set of meaningless guff, but then he knows the DUP position was always just expedient posturing.

Whether or not the two of them can convince the ultras on their own side is the big question.

[Uncle fester]

[mat the expat]

^ That's even more special as he's a commercial pilot and owns a business.

What a pillock!

Still a good frontman, but.....

[Hal Jordan]

I love Maiden, but they always were a bit twatrioty.

[mat the expat]

I love Maiden, but they always were a bit twatrioty.

Musos innit

[dpedin]

Get ready for rancid infected meats and even African Swine Fever in the UK. You honestly couldn't make it up - it seems taking back control over our own borders means asking lorry drivers nicely if they wouldn't mind stopping off after 22 miles into the UK to have their load checked but if they cant be bothered then that's ok. It is also ok apparently to meet up with some mates and offload anything in the 22 miles! Oh and checks for African Swine flu to be cut by 70% at the same time. Just brilliant - sunny uplands indeed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68244374

[fishfoodie]

Get ready for rancid infected meats and even African Swine Fever in the UK. You honestly couldn't make it up - it seems taking back control over our own borders means asking lorry drivers nicely if they wouldn't mind stopping off after 22 miles into the UK to have their load checked but if they cant be bothered then that's ok. It is also ok apparently to meet up with some mates and offload anything in the 22 miles! Oh and checks for African Swine flu to be cut by 70% at the same time. Just brilliant - sunny uplands indeed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68244374

They don't seem to mention in that article either that it was specified in the enacting legislation that as soon as the inspection facilities run out of capacity, they'll just wave thru trucks, as the priority is keeping trade flowing, not safety.

Any smugglers will just lag behind the rest of the trucks off the ferry, to ensure by the time they arrive all the bays are full, & they'll be sent on their way unless there is specific intelligence about what they're hauling.

[dpedin]

Quelle surprise! New UK Border controls delayed for 6th time due to supply line and cost issues, or in other words kicked into the long grass and let Labour worry about this once they win the next General election. Brexit truly is the biggest shitshow of self harm a country has ever inflicted upon itself!

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... rts-report

[epwc]

The number of UK listed firms being taken over doesn't seem to be slowing either

[dpedin]

Guess what ... it gets worse!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8vz9d8815po

It is almost like someone somewhere hasn't a feckin clue what they are doing or they dont care as it won't be their problem to deal with? What a feckin shitshow, if they dont move the date then there will be carnage at the ports and euro tunnel/eurostar. All these were built and developed on basis of free movement and therefore not designed to have capability nor capacity to deal with enhanced border checks. If these is no delay in implementation then the only way they will cope with extra queues will be to reduce frequency of ferries/trains and increase cost per journey to compensate for loss of revenue.

[fishfoodie]

Guess what today is the 10th anniversary of ?

The publishing of this brilliant prediction by the now, Lord Hannan of Kingsclere !

It’s 24 June, 2025, and Britain is marking its annual Independence Day celebration. As the fireworks stream through the summer sky, still not quite dark, we wonder why it took us so long to leave. The years that followed the 2016 referendum didn’t just reinvigorate our economy, our democracy and our liberty. They improved relations with our neighbours.

The United Kingdom is now the region’s foremost knowledge-based economy. We lead the world in biotech, law, education, the audio-visual sector, financial services and software. New industries, from 3D printing to driverless cars, have sprung up around the country. Older industries, too, have revived as energy prices have fallen back to global levels: steel, cement, paper, plastics and ceramics producers have become competitive again.

The EU, meanwhile, continues to turn inwards, clinging to its dream of political amalgamation as the euro and migration crises worsen. Its population is ageing, its share of world GDP shrinking and its peoples protesting. “We have the most comprehensive workers’ rights in the world”, complains Jean-Claude Juncker, who has recently begun in his second term as President of the European Federation, “but we have fewer and fewer workers”.

The last thing most EU leaders wanted, once the shock had worn off, was a protracted argument with the United Kingdom which, on the day it left, became their single biggest market. Terms were agreed easily enough. Britain withdrew from the EU’s political structures and institutions, but kept its tariff-free arrangements in place. The rights of EU nationals living in the UK were confirmed, and various reciprocal deals on healthcare and the like remained. For the sake of administrative convenience, Brexit took effect formally on 1 July 2019, to coincide with the mandates of a new European Parliament and Commission.

That day marked, not a sudden departure, but the beginning of a gradual reorientation. As the leader of the Remain campaign, Lord Rose, had put it during the referendum campaign, “It’s not going to be a step change, it’s going to be a gentle process.” He was spot on.

In many areas, whether because of economies of scale or because rules were largely set at global level, the UK and the EU continued to adopt the same technical standards. But, from 2019, Britain could begin to disapply those regulations where the cost of compliance outweighed any benefits.

The EU’s Clinical Trials Directive, for example, had wiped out a great deal of medical research in Britain. Outside it, we again lead the world. Opting out of the EU’s data protection rules has turned Hoxton into the software capital of the world. Britain is no longer hampered by Brussels restrictions on sales, promotions and e-commerce.

Other EU regulations, often little known, had caused enormous damage. The REACH Directive, limiting the import of chemical products, had imposed huge costs on manufacturers. The bans on vitamin supplements and herbal remedies had closed down many health shops. London’s art market had been brutalised by EU rules on VAT and retrospective taxation. All these sectors have revived.

Financial services are booming – not only in London, but in Birmingham, Leeds and Edinburgh too. Eurocrats had never much liked the City, which they regarded as parasitical. Before Brexit, they targeted London with regulations that were not simply harmful but, in some cases, downright malicious: the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, the ban on short selling, the Financial Transactions Tax, the restrictions on insurance. After Britain left, the EU’s regulations became even more heavy-handed, driving more exiles from Paris, Frankfurt and Milan. No other European city could hope to compete: their high rates of personal and corporate taxation, restrictive employment practices and lack of support services left London unchallenged.

Other cities, too, have boomed, not least Liverpool and Glasgow, which had found themselves on the wrong side of the country when the EEC’s Common External Tariff was phased in in the 1970s. In 2016, the viability of our commercial ports was threatened by the EU’s Ports Services Directive, one of many proposed rules that was being held back so as not to boost the Leave vote. Now, the UK has again become a centre for world shipping.
Shale oil and gas came on tap, almost providentially, just as the North Sea reserves were depleting, with most of the infrastructure already in place. Outside the EU, we have been able to augment this bonanza by buying cheap Chinese solar panels. In consequence, our fuel bills have tumbled, boosting productivity, increasing household incomes and stimulating the entire economy.

During the first 12 months after the vote, Britain confirmed with the various countries that have trade deals with the EU that the same deals would continue. It also used that time to agree much more liberal terms with those states which had run up against EU protectionism, including India, China and Australia. These new treaties came into effect shortly after independence. Britain, like the EFTA countries, now combines global free trade with full participation in EU markets.

Our universities are flourishing, taking the world’s brightest students and, where appropriate, charging accordingly. Their revenues, in consequence, are rising, while they continue to collaborate with research centres in Europe and around the world.

The number of student visas granted each year is decided by MPs who, now that they no longer need to worry about unlimited EU migration, can afford to take a long-term view. Parliament sets the number of work permits, the number of refugee places and the terms of family reunification. A points-based immigration system invites the world’s top talent; and the consequent sense of having had to win a place competitively means that new settlers arrive with commensurate pride and patriotism.

Unsurprisingly, several other European countries have opted to copy Britain’s deal with the EU, based as it is upon a common market rather than a common government. Some of these countries were drawn from EFTA (Norway, Switzerland and Iceland are all bringing their arrangements into line with ours). Some came from further afield (Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine). Some followed us out of the EU (Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands).
The United Kingdom now leads a 22-state bloc that forms a free trade area with the EU, but remains outside its political structures. For their part, the EU 24 have continued to push ahead with economic, military and political amalgamation. They now have a common police force and army, a pan-European income tax and a harmonised system of social security. These developments have prompted referendums in three other EU states on whether to copy Britain.

Perhaps the greatest benefit, though, is not easy to quantify. Britain has recovered its self-belief. As we left the EU, we straightened our backs, looked about us, and realised that we were still a nation to be reckoned with: the world’s fifth economy and fourth military power, one of five members on the UN Security Council and a leading member of the G7 and the Commonwealth. We recalled, too, that we were the world’s leading exporter of soft power; that our language was the most widely studied on Earth; that we were linked by kinship and migration to every continent and archipelago. We saw that there were great opportunities across the oceans, beyond the enervated eurozone. We knew that our song had not yet been sung.

Daniel Hannan is a Conservative MEP and author of Why Vote Leave published by Head of Zeus

https://www.reaction.life/p/britain-looks-like-brexit

[Hal Jordan]

This cabbage being allowed to have a say in our legislature is a national scandal.

[dpedin]

Guess what today is the 10th anniversary of ?

The publishing of this brilliant prediction by the now, Lord Hannan of Kingsclere !

It’s 24 June, 2025, and Britain is marking its annual Independence Day celebration. As the fireworks stream through the summer sky, still not quite dark, we wonder why it took us so long to leave. The years that followed the 2016 referendum didn’t just reinvigorate our economy, our democracy and our liberty. They improved relations with our neighbours.

The United Kingdom is now the region’s foremost knowledge-based economy. We lead the world in biotech, law, education, the audio-visual sector, financial services and software. New industries, from 3D printing to driverless cars, have sprung up around the country. Older industries, too, have revived as energy prices have fallen back to global levels: steel, cement, paper, plastics and ceramics producers have become competitive again.

The EU, meanwhile, continues to turn inwards, clinging to its dream of political amalgamation as the euro and migration crises worsen. Its population is ageing, its share of world GDP shrinking and its peoples protesting. “We have the most comprehensive workers’ rights in the world”, complains Jean-Claude Juncker, who has recently begun in his second term as President of the European Federation, “but we have fewer and fewer workers”.

The last thing most EU leaders wanted, once the shock had worn off, was a protracted argument with the United Kingdom which, on the day it left, became their single biggest market. Terms were agreed easily enough. Britain withdrew from the EU’s political structures and institutions, but kept its tariff-free arrangements in place. The rights of EU nationals living in the UK were confirmed, and various reciprocal deals on healthcare and the like remained. For the sake of administrative convenience, Brexit took effect formally on 1 July 2019, to coincide with the mandates of a new European Parliament and Commission.

That day marked, not a sudden departure, but the beginning of a gradual reorientation. As the leader of the Remain campaign, Lord Rose, had put it during the referendum campaign, “It’s not going to be a step change, it’s going to be a gentle process.” He was spot on.

In many areas, whether because of economies of scale or because rules were largely set at global level, the UK and the EU continued to adopt the same technical standards. But, from 2019, Britain could begin to disapply those regulations where the cost of compliance outweighed any benefits.

The EU’s Clinical Trials Directive, for example, had wiped out a great deal of medical research in Britain. Outside it, we again lead the world. Opting out of the EU’s data protection rules has turned Hoxton into the software capital of the world. Britain is no longer hampered by Brussels restrictions on sales, promotions and e-commerce.

Other EU regulations, often little known, had caused enormous damage. The REACH Directive, limiting the import of chemical products, had imposed huge costs on manufacturers. The bans on vitamin supplements and herbal remedies had closed down many health shops. London’s art market had been brutalised by EU rules on VAT and retrospective taxation. All these sectors have revived.

Financial services are booming – not only in London, but in Birmingham, Leeds and Edinburgh too. Eurocrats had never much liked the City, which they regarded as parasitical. Before Brexit, they targeted London with regulations that were not simply harmful but, in some cases, downright malicious: the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, the ban on short selling, the Financial Transactions Tax, the restrictions on insurance. After Britain left, the EU’s regulations became even more heavy-handed, driving more exiles from Paris, Frankfurt and Milan. No other European city could hope to compete: their high rates of personal and corporate taxation, restrictive employment practices and lack of support services left London unchallenged.

Other cities, too, have boomed, not least Liverpool and Glasgow, which had found themselves on the wrong side of the country when the EEC’s Common External Tariff was phased in in the 1970s. In 2016, the viability of our commercial ports was threatened by the EU’s Ports Services Directive, one of many proposed rules that was being held back so as not to boost the Leave vote. Now, the UK has again become a centre for world shipping.
Shale oil and gas came on tap, almost providentially, just as the North Sea reserves were depleting, with most of the infrastructure already in place. Outside the EU, we have been able to augment this bonanza by buying cheap Chinese solar panels. In consequence, our fuel bills have tumbled, boosting productivity, increasing household incomes and stimulating the entire economy.

During the first 12 months after the vote, Britain confirmed with the various countries that have trade deals with the EU that the same deals would continue. It also used that time to agree much more liberal terms with those states which had run up against EU protectionism, including India, China and Australia. These new treaties came into effect shortly after independence. Britain, like the EFTA countries, now combines global free trade with full participation in EU markets.

Our universities are flourishing, taking the world’s brightest students and, where appropriate, charging accordingly. Their revenues, in consequence, are rising, while they continue to collaborate with research centres in Europe and around the world.

The number of student visas granted each year is decided by MPs who, now that they no longer need to worry about unlimited EU migration, can afford to take a long-term view. Parliament sets the number of work permits, the number of refugee places and the terms of family reunification. A points-based immigration system invites the world’s top talent; and the consequent sense of having had to win a place competitively means that new settlers arrive with commensurate pride and patriotism.

Unsurprisingly, several other European countries have opted to copy Britain’s deal with the EU, based as it is upon a common market rather than a common government. Some of these countries were drawn from EFTA (Norway, Switzerland and Iceland are all bringing their arrangements into line with ours). Some came from further afield (Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine). Some followed us out of the EU (Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands).
The United Kingdom now leads a 22-state bloc that forms a free trade area with the EU, but remains outside its political structures. For their part, the EU 24 have continued to push ahead with economic, military and political amalgamation. They now have a common police force and army, a pan-European income tax and a harmonised system of social security. These developments have prompted referendums in three other EU states on whether to copy Britain.

Perhaps the greatest benefit, though, is not easy to quantify. Britain has recovered its self-belief. As we left the EU, we straightened our backs, looked about us, and realised that we were still a nation to be reckoned with: the world’s fifth economy and fourth military power, one of five members on the UN Security Council and a leading member of the G7 and the Commonwealth. We recalled, too, that we were the world’s leading exporter of soft power; that our language was the most widely studied on Earth; that we were linked by kinship and migration to every continent and archipelago. We saw that there were great opportunities across the oceans, beyond the enervated eurozone. We knew that our song had not yet been sung.

Daniel Hannan is a Conservative MEP and author of Why Vote Leave published by Head of Zeus

https://www.reaction.life/p/britain-looks-like-brexit

It is hard to believe that someone could get almost everything wrong ... but then again I forgot it was that racist, crap spewing, bullshit merchant Hannan! Despite being completely wrong in almost every single issue he gets 'promoted' to the HoL, a very good reason for dismantling it!