AndrewJB wrote:If the government had actually consulted with people, and negotiated a simple soft Brexit back in 2017, we’d already be out now. The only reason we are where we are is because the government insisted on doing it all alone, and aimed at quite a hard Brexit, which involved the most complicated negotiations - requiring (as we’ve seen) big concessions to the EU over the NI border. As all of this has unravelled, proved impossible to build a majority consensus for, and strengthened support for not leaving at all, there is no doubt in my mind that the approach was all wrong.
Again - a soft leave in 2017 would have saved us years of wrangling, wasted money and effort, and we’d be out (so further ahead than we are now).
I've been saying this for ages.
As soon as May became PM she could have brought forward a bill immediately proposing that (subject to EU approval, which would have been forthcoming), we would leave the EU in 3 months, but temporarily remain in the CU and SM, whilst we negotiated a deal. [She would have had a large majority for this]
Ok, it wouldn't INITIALLY have been the "deal" that the ERG wanted, but if she'd gone for that she most likely wouldn't have called a GE, and she would have had a majority in Parliament to get a deal through over the next 12 months or so.
More importantly she would have done what the people voted for, so that would have been one argument out of the way. It would also have broadly satisfied the vast majority of the 48%.
Focus would then have been on getting a good trade deal outside the CU and to reduce regulatory alignment. The issue of the Irish border which was hardly mentioned prior to the referendum would not even have arisen - until later, but by then we would have been out.
Unfortunately she allowed herself to be hostage to the ERG, and that's why we have such a divided country now.
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