Brexit ‘rebranded’

Brexit ‘rebranded’

Anyone who recently signed the Petition “Ensure that the U.K. leaves the EU Single Market & Customs Union.” will have this morning received the following response:

The UK is leaving the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union. We are seeking to establish a deep and special partnership with the EU and a new customs arrangement outside the EU’s Customs Union.
As the Prime Minister has made clear, when we leave the European Union, we will also be leaving the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union.

The UK is seeking the broadest and deepest possible partnership – covering more sectors and co-operating more fully than any Free Trade Agreement anywhere in the world today. We want to have the greatest possible tariff and barrier-free trade with our European neighbours.
We have listened to EU leaders and we understand and respect the position that the four freedoms of the single market are indivisible and there can be no cherry-picking. We do not seek membership of the Single Market after we leave the EU, but a bold and ambitious Economic Partnership as part of a new special partnership.
Remaining a member of the Single Market would mean accepting a role for the Court of Justice of the EU. It would mean still not having control over immigration. It would therefore fail the first test for our future economic partnership with the EU the Prime Minister set out at Mansion House.
By leaving the Customs Union and establishing a new and ambitious customs arrangement with the EU, we will be able to forge new trade relationships with our partners around the world, and maintain as frictionless trade as possible in goods between the UK and the EU. In doing so, we will be providing a positive and powerful voice for free trade.
To ensure UK-EU trade is as frictionless as possible, the Government has considered two broad approaches to a future customs relationship with the EU that would facilitate the UK’s objectives.
Both of these options for our future customs arrangement would leave the UK free to determine its own tariffs with third countries – which would simply not be possible while part of the Customs Union.
As the Prime Minister has said, our decision to leave the EU does not mark an ending. It marks a new beginning for our relationship with our European allies. However, the agreement we reach with the EU must respect the result of the referendum which was a vote to take control of our borders, laws and money.
We are confident that the UK and the EU can reach a positive deal on our future partnership, as this would be to the mutual benefit of both the UK and the EU. We therefore approach the negotiations in this spirit.
Department for Exiting the European Union

This all appears to sound very nice and pleasing to hear, but notice how it appears to be completely at odds with what our Prime Minister is currently blundering towards?

And seemingly our own House Of Lords appears to have a wholly different ‘vision’ of Brexit at odds with the above statement from the Department for Exiting the European Union.

So what is the final outcome?

My opinion is that the Establishment has absolutely no intention of the UK actually ‘leaving’ the European Union, and is instead attempting to cook something up which will leave us with what is esstentially ‘Brexit In Name Only’, or BRINO as it has been referred to elsewhere.

The UK’s current ‘relationship’ with the EU is simply going to be rebranded or ‘remarketed’ as something ‘different’ while staying exactly the same.

For instance, we voted to see an end to ‘freedom of movement’, which gives the right for EU citizens to move to the UK to ‘live and work’. This looks like it will be ‘rebranded’ as a ‘labour mobility programme’ which will, wait for it, allow EU citizens to enjoy special privileges to be able to live and work in the UK AFTER we exit the EU.

We voted to leave the single market and customs union, so we could trade freely on our own terms with the EU and rest of the world. So it looks like we are going to be leaving ‘the’ customs union with the EU, to be replaced by ‘a’ customs union with the EU. No change there either then.

BRINO is a bit too close to BRINE for my liking, ‘brine’ being of course salty sea-water, which leaves a bad taste in the mouth and is bad for you in the long-term. Which also sums up my opinion on our Government’s handling of these so-called Brexit ‘negotiations’.

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