Messrs. Johnson, Davis and Fox: Three stupid monkeys.

British Gazette readers will of course know of the three wise monkeys embodying the proverbial principle “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”. The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.
There is no doubt that the three stupid monkeys (Johnson, Davis and Fox) are very intelligent men. Yet they behave like idiots when it comes to the Brexit issue!
The big problem with these three idiots is that none show much or any grasp of the tortuous technicalities involved in Brexit. None are known to be “good on detail”.
All are wedded to the delusion that the UK can negotiate a one-off trade deal, similar to that between the EU and Canada, which would allow us to continue trading freely with the Single Market, while also allowing us to “take control of our borders” and cut further migration from within the EU. They seem relaxed at the prospect of being forced to rely on WTO rules without having the first idea of the consequences of this.
As this organ has pointed out, WTO default would require the EU doing the paperwork for the UK. Furthermore the EEA is defined as a Regional Trade Area (RTA) by the WTO.
RTAs are partially exempted from discrimination rules, and are thus allowed to impose special conditions on “third countries” – which the UK would become if it left the EU without negotiating a trade deal.
Your Editor is getting rather tired of endlessly reiterating this: the ONLY PRACTICAL way for the UK is to go for the “off-the-shelf” solution whereby we leave the EU and join Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway in the European Free Trade Area and remain in the European Economic Area (EEA), where we already are!
Do not believe the bullshit peddled by such as the Chameleon and the Unfortunate Osborne about “the Norway option” being a poor second relation to EU membership.
IT IS NOT!!!!!
Quite the contrary in fact! It would give us MORE influence over the shaping of single market rules than we have as members of the EU. Furthermore, under Article 112 of the EEA agreement, we could unilaterally insist on limited opt-outs from the EU’s “Four Freedoms”, including free movement of people, exercising a legal right which has already been used a dozen times.
Our big problem is that the three stupid monkeys are setting themselves up to walk straight into a federalist trap.
The one person to keep an eye on is the Prime Minister, the inscrutable Chairman May.
If Mrs May is following the course postulated in yesterday’s two articles (http://www.british-gazette.co.uk/2016/07/16/the-lafrowda-solution-the-european-communities-disapplication-england-and-wales-bill/) and (http://www.british-gazette.co.uk/2016/07/16/theresa-may-and-nicola-sturgeon-are-these-two-ladies-the-cleverest-politicians-in-the-uk/) we will be heading for FLEXCIT and all will be well.
Your Editor however has come across rumours that certain persons spoke privately to Mrs May before the referendum and that she might be a party to the following:
A potential “British Model” is now being actively discussed in Brussels (which is desperately keen not to see us, or indeed any other country which might wish to follow our example, leave the EU) is a “two-tier Europe”, with the eurozone countries at its core, bent on greater political integration, and Britain as an “associate” or “outer ring” member.
THIS WILL BE A CON!!!!!
At a superficial level, this will resemble FLEXCIT (EFTA + EEA) but it will not! The UK would still be shackled to the EU!
This is why it appears that UKIP is now beginning to appear as part of the problem and not part of the solution. Indeed large numbers of naive but extremely patriotic UKIPers are going to be regarded as being the “useful idiots” of Brussels federalists. The unwitting tools that will keep the UK ensnared within the EU!
UKIP’s (and the three monkeys) delusional insistence that there is a Brexit solution that is not FLEXCIT could cause the Brussels federalists and their Europhile allies in the UK’s political establishment to hijack the Brexit process and defeat Brexit!