I’m really, really trying not to be a pessimist about Brexit and the UK’s future but it’s so very hard. I look to the government and our negotiating teams for small crumbs of comfort, for even the slightest hint that it’s all going to be alright in the end, but there’s zilch, nada, nothing.
Last Friday, like a dutiful citizen I tuned into Theresa May’s Brexit speech at Mansion House. I expected nothing and got nothing. It was a speech full of generalisations, stock phrases and dumb mantras. And she still sounds like someone who wants to have their cake and eat it. In parts, it was just bizarre. For example, she rejected the single market even though she believes in it and recognises its many benefits.
The negotiations with the rest of Europe are probably more complex than any of us can imagine as we seek to untangle more than 40 years of laws, rules and regulations. But why is it that 18 months since the referendum (that there was no public clamour for) the Conservatives are still not united on their positions and very little headway has been made. With the leave date a year away we still don’t have any concrete answers about what is going to happen. Key issues such as the Irish border are nowhere near a conclusion.
Fans of a hard Brexit may have been popping champagne corks after May’s speech but those of us who live in the real world are very worried indeed because at the moment it looks like we’re going to get one heck of a bad deal.
