Another Tory idiot.
Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, is taking questions in the Commons. In response to a question from the Conservative MP Nigel Evans about negative coverage of Brexit in the media, Fox accused the BBC of being biased against Brexit. He told MPs:
It does appear that some elements of our media would rather see Britain fail than Brexit succeed. I cannot recall a single time in recent times when I have seen good economic news that the BBC did not describe as despite Brexit.
Stating the obvious.
Barnier says 'frictionless' trade with EU will be impossible if UK leaves single market
Michel Barnier, the EUs chief Brexit negotiator, has been giving evidence to an EU committee in Brussels this morning. And he has delivered some blunt messages to the UK. Here are the key points, from the Press Association coverage.
Barnier said that it would be impossible for the UK to have frictionless trade with the EU if it left the single market. The government has said that it wants trade with the EU to be as frictionless as possible after Brexit. But Barnier said that the EU had made it clear to the UK that the EUs four freedoms - including freedom of movement - are indivisible, that there can be no sector-by-sector participation in the single market and that the EU will maintain full sovereignty over its own rules and regulations. He said:
These three points were already made very clear by the European council and European parliament, but I am not sure whether they have been fully understood across the Channel.
I have heard some people in the UK argue that one can leave the single market and keep all of its benefits. That is not possible.
I have heard some people in the UK argue that one can leave the single market and build a customs union to achieve frictionless trade. That is not possible.
He said Brexit would inevitably have negative consequences for the UK.
The decision to leave the EU has consequences and I have to explain to citizens, businesses and civil society on both sides of the Channel what those consequences mean for them.
These consequences are the direct result of the choice made by the UK, not by the EU. There is no punishment for Brexit and of course no spirit of revenge. But Brexit has a cost, also for business in the EU27, and businesses should assess with lucidity the negative consequences of the UK choice on trade and investment and prepare to manage that.
He said that if the UK and the EU failed to reach a deal, the UK would lose out more. Brexit would create a loser/loser situation for both the EU and UK, he said. But he went on:
No deal would worsen the loser/loser situation which will necessarily be the result of Brexit and objectively the UK would have rather more to lose than its partners.
There is no reasonable justification for a no deal scenario. There is no reason further to worsen the consequences of Brexit.
