Next Prime Minister

[Snake Plissken]

Next Prime Minister

So, that idea that May was moving into Labours ground last all of a couple of hours.

Fox, Davies, Johnson and god knows who else making up the most right wing Government in history.

[Moonlight Shadow]

Next Prime Minister

Davis is in charge of Brexit. Essentially, May is tasking Leavers to sort out the mess they created.

Plans within plans as they say in Dune?

[Guy Profumo]

Next Prime Minister

Surely "picaninny" only has one "c" people?

[Guy Profumo]

Next Prime Minister

Oh fuck off.

[Guy Profumo]

Next Prime Minister

https://www.google.co.uk/search?site=&source=hp&ei=N5WGV8nEPMaVgAaCzqSoCg&q =picaninny&oq=Picaninn&gs_l=mobile-gws-hp.1.0.41j0i10j0l3.2393.5959.0.7174.9.9.0.1.1.0.17 2.1058.4j5.9.0....0...1c.1j4.64.mobile-gws-hp..0.9.936.3..0i131j0i3.xCXF0WXfQy0#imgrc=Q71NTA3 ZERQTPM%3A

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Next Prime Minister

One of the most dismal things about this (Boris) is that this won't even be universally unpopular - there'll be a big chunk of the voting population sitting there giving it breath of fresh air / he'll sort them lot in Brussels out / time we had some characters in there and spend the next few years (if he lasts that long) tittering at every offensive 'gaffe' he makes, like they do when Prince Philip does it.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Next Prime Minister

David Davis is "hard" Brexiter. WTO, not EEA.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Next Prime Minister

Walt Flanagans Chien wrote: One of the most dismal things about this (Boris) is that this won't even be universally unpopular - there'll be a big chunk of the voting population sitting there giving it breath of fresh air / he'll sort them lot in Brussels out / time we had some characters in there and spend the next few years (if he lasts that long) tittering at every offensive 'gaffe' he makes, like they do when Prince Philip does it.

Boris isn't doing Brexit. But yeah, it's going to be Prince Philip stuff.

[Moonlight Shadow]

Next Prime Minister

WTO option is considerably more difficult than it seems in fact, clever piece in FT about it.

[Snake Plissken]

Next Prime Minister

Tubby Isaacs wrote: David Davis is "hard" Brexiter. WTO, not EEA.

Ouch. Or maybe he's in for a rude awakening. Hopefully.

I need this whisky to kick in.

[Lang Spoon]

Next Prime Minister

WTO means tariffs, no? In a country that exports the square root of fuck all it should be interesting how the leaver fannies react when their pound has sunk and then there's a whatever % charge slapped on goods as well. Doubtless will still be the dirty foreigners fault.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Next Prime Minister

Sean of the Shed wrote: Fucking Hell, Johnson's been made Foreign Secretary.

This has to be a joke, surely they can't make this idiot responsible for negotiating anything with Putin.

[ursus arctos]

Next Prime Minister

Link to FT article on WTO

[Lang Spoon]

Next Prime Minister

Rollocks. Too poor to view.

[Benjm]

Next Prime Minister

I've searched the living room top to bottom for hidden cameras and am reluctantly abandoning the elaborate practical joke explanation.

[kokamoa]

Next Prime Minister

I had just calmed down over Brexit when I saw the news about Boris Johnson.

6 hours in and she's fucked up already.

Fucking fuck cunts!

[Moonlight Shadow]

Next Prime Minister

Chap who wrote article is on twitter and posted large extracts.

Davis is currently suing UK govt for non compliance of EU law at the ECJ...

[ursus arctos]

Next Prime Minister

As the UK and the rest of the world adjust to last month’s historic vote to leave the EU, a big issue remains far from decided: what kind of relationship post-Brexit Britain will seek with the rest of the bloc.

One scenario much discussed by free traders within the Brexit ranks, as well as those who want a clean break with the rules of the EU, is known as World Trade Organisation access.

Under this model the UK would rely on its membership of the WTO for access to European markets and as a first step towards full-blown free trade agreements with other blocs and countries — including the EU.

But the WTO option is by no means guaranteed. Here are some of the key questions about what could turn out to be a protracted and politically contentious process.

Can the UK just go ahead and trade under WTO terms as soon as it leaves the EU?

No. In practice, the UK would have to detach itself from the EU and regularise its position within the WTO before it could sign its own trade agreements, including with the EU. As Roberto Azevêdo, the WTO’s director-general, said recently, there is no precedent for a WTO member extricating itself from an economic union while inside the organisation. The process would not be easy and would likely take years before the UK’s WTO position was settled, not least because all other member states would have to agree.

As the UK and the rest of the world adjust to last month’s historic vote to leave the EU, a big issue remains far from decided: what kind of relationship post-Brexit Britain will seek with the rest of the bloc.

One scenario much discussed by free traders within the Brexit ranks, as well as those who want a clean break with the rules of the EU, is known as World Trade Organisation access.

Under this model the UK would rely on its membership of the WTO for access to European markets and as a first step towards full-blown free trade agreements with other blocs and countries — including the EU.

But the WTO option is by no means guaranteed. Here are some of the key questions about what could turn out to be a protracted and politically contentious process.

Can the UK just go ahead and trade under WTO terms as soon as it leaves the EU?

No. In practice, the UK would have to detach itself from the EU and regularise its position within the WTO before it could sign its own trade agreements, including with the EU. As Roberto Azevêdo, the WTO’s director-general, said recently, there is no precedent for a WTO member extricating itself from an economic union while inside the organisation. The process would not be easy and would likely take years before the UK’s WTO position was settled, not least because all other member states would have to agree.

What about services, where the UK is the world’s third-largest exporter?

The UK could extract its own existing promises from within the EU’s schedule and turn them into standalone commitments. This would allow, say, foreign consultants or engineers to operate in the UK, though in fact the degree of liberalisation in the WTO services agreement is low and the EU’s schedule is riddled with exceptions for individual member countries.

Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy and a former EU trade negotiator, says: “In theory it’s not hard to create a services schedule for the UK out of the EU schedule. But while it’s intellectually quite easy it’s an excruciating legal process.”

Mr Lee-Makiyama notes that it took five years to integrate Bulgaria and Romania into the EU services schedule after they joined the bloc. While some trade officials say it may be easier to create a schedule for a leaving member than one arriving, they seem to agree the process can be measured in years rather than months.

So what is the realistic short-term prospect for WTO access to European and other markets?

As Mr Ungphakorn says: “None of this is impossible, but it won’t be sorted out quickly.” While the schedules are being agreed, the UK’s legal status as a trading nation will be undetermined, with all that implies for uncertainty and business decisions.

The speed of the UK being able to trade on WTO terms in its own right will partly depend on political will. Yet even if other governments co-operate and accept London’s proposals, the legal processes and paperwork are likely to take years.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Next Prime Minister

Le Dragon de Gaziantep wrote:

Fucking Hell, Johnson's been made Foreign Secretary.

This has to be a joke, surely they can't make this idiot responsible for negotiating anything with Putin.

Not Corbyn's strong suit either.

[Diable Rouge]

Next Prime Minister

Saw a similar article in the Irish Examiner - seems the WTO option is the most extreme Brexit trade option, even more distant relationship than Canada, with the UK and EU engaged in years of bilateral negotiations on every conceivable category. As such, it would seem on paper to be a nightmare for North-South relations, as UK would be outside the Single Markey.

[Moonlight Shadow]

Next Prime Minister

There is the Minckford option - unilateral free trade, essentially the UK is declared an open economy with no tariffs.

[ursus arctos]

Next Prime Minister

Or is the idea that Johnson, Davis and Fox will be unable to agree on anything about Brexit, and eventually form a circular firing squad?

[Moonlight Shadow]

Next Prime Minister

May is hard to read, those appts are intriguing and not fortuitous. That emphasis on the Union in her speech was also not just there for show.

Time will tell if there is indeed a plan within a plan.

[ursus arctos]

Next Prime Minister

Will be very interesting to see how Sterling fares in Asian trading

[Lang Spoon]

Next Prime Minister

Moonlight shadow wrote: May is hard to read, those appts are intriguing and not fortuitous. That emphasis on the Union in her speech was also not just there for show.

Time will tell if there is indeed a plan within a plan.

Preparing for an IndyRef2 that ramps up the emotional (half code for orangery) Unionism? The comfort of the UK bosom money wise mightn't be so apparent once the article 51 negotiations start and the pound swan dives for two years.

Thanks, Ursus.