Stage Two - what's next?

[NotAllThere]

The problem with entering phase two of Brexit talks is that Britain has no idea what it wants out of a future trading relationship.

See this thread: http://forums.contractoruk.com/brexi...it-vision.html

[meridian]

Think Brexit negotiations are going badly? It’s about to get a whole lot worse | Prospect Magazine

Until recently, there had been no progress on the UK side whatsoever. But now, after months of huffing and puffing, it looks like the UK may be about to make the much-needed breakthrough. On the divorce bill, at least, there have been more positive noises coming from No 10, with Theresa May doubling her offer from £20bn to £40bn. There is a chance, if things move further still, that the EU will decide “sufficient progress” has been made at its December summit and that talks on the future relationship can begin.

Great news, you might think. You’d be wrong. The problem with entering phase two of Brexit talks is that Britain has no idea what it wants out of a future trading relationship. The prime minister doesn’t know what she wants, cabinet doesn’t know what it wants, parliament doesn’t know what it wants and the public don’t know what they want. If you thought phase one was bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Here’s why.

When Britain enters phase two, it will be confronted with a simple choice: do we want trade or control? And we don’t know the answer to this question. Indeed, we haven’t even accepted it’s a choice we’ll have to make. But the reality is that if we want lots of trade, we have to give up some control. If we want lots of control, we have to give up some trade. It’s as simple as that. This is why it is so unhelpful to hear politicians pretend this choice does not exist. You cannot have your cake and eat it. Each bite of the cake you consume means there is that much less cake on the table.