Tag Archives: Single Market

The Remain campaign, both before and after the referendum, have long argued that being part of the European Union’s Single Market and Custom’s Union benefits our non-EU trade. They argue that we benefit from the “clout” of being part of a large bloc, that goes around the world negotiating multiple …

Any “Plan B” for Brexit must take account of the Referendum result.  The 2016 EU Referendum in the UK was held to determine whether the UK desired to Remain in or Leave the European Union. The result of the Referendum was a convincing majority to Leave the EU in England …

What should UK trading relations look like after 2019, when Brexit itself finally happens? We are now being told that the UK must enter the “Single Market “.  The Single Market is, in many ways, another name for being in the EU.  As the EU Commission puts it: “The Single Market …

I have just finished reading yet another article on how Trade Deficits are harmless or even good for a country (The Trade Deficit Matters, But Not How You Think by Jeffrey Dorfman). Trade deficits happen when a country imports more than it exports, the excess imports need to be purchased …

The UK has a trade deficit with the EU (Jan 2018) of  £82bn pa – about 4% of GDP (larger than the UK bank bailout in 2008 annually see note 1).  Trade deficits directly reduce GDP, the trade deficit with the EU reduces UK GDP by about 4%.  It makes …

There is a reason why politicians from all parties are almost universally disliked and not trusted. They say one thing, but mean another. They promise, but keep their promises in name only. It is for this reason that while I am philosophically conservative I have never joined the Conservative Party. …

The House of Lords has just published its inquiry into energy security after Brexit – see Brexit: Energy Security. This publication is fairly complete in its coverage of the changes that will be needed in the coming year.  The government will have had almost 3 years to plan for Brexit by …

Those who follow economics now know that the economic “experts” were wrong about their predictions for the period between the Referendum and today.  This has scarcely been covered by broadcasters and this lack of coverage has left many Remain voters believing that an economic disaster is imminent.  The absence of any coverage …

The modern news cycle is like a raging river. Those of us paying attention to it are the helmsmen of our boats, trying to steer ourselves in the right direction while all the while paying attention to what the river is doing. However skilled mariners we may be, sometimes it …

The Left’s extreme attachment to the principle of free movement of people speaks volumes about whose interests they really serve This, by trade unionist and Blue Labour activist Paul Embery, really gets to the heart of the modern metro-Left’s extremist stance on immigration and free movement of people within the …

What has Brexit done to the EU?  The answer is simple, it has accelerated the move towards EU political union where the EU operates as a single state.  This concept is fully supported by Merkel and the new, pro-EU French President, Macron.  The two leaders are in such agreement on …

The Single Market is the economic basis of the EU, it allows the free movement of Capital, Labour and Trade within its members. It corresponds to what, in the UK, was called the “Common Market” until 1993.  Countries can be full members of the Single Market by joining the EU …

I have in recent days found myself dealing with perpetual criticism of the Vote Leave campaign’s use of the ‘£350m’ figure during last year’s EU referendum campaign. Scores of Twitter followers and individuals I know in person have, it seems, converged on me, telling me that our figure was either …

If you’ve ever played a card game that involves bluffing, you will no doubt be aware that it crucially depends on the players not being able to see each other’s cards. I can pretend that I have four aces only if my cards are hidden. This makes it possible for …

“We have our own dream and our own task. We are with Europe, but not of it. We are linked but not combined. We are interested and associated but not absorbed. If Britain must choose between Europe and the open sea, she must always choose the open sea.” – Winston …

While advocating a “soft Brexit” as their fallback position, Remainers contradict themselves and expose the tawdry lies they told during the EU referendum Even Open Britain, the shrivelled husk of Will Straw’s failed Remain campaign group Britain Stronger in Europe, has now effectively admitted that leaving the European Union need not be …

I never thought economics was a subject worth studying until 2008. But suddenly with the worst economic crisis since the 1930s making a difference to all of our lives, I thought it best to try to come to some sort of understanding of what was going on. I didn’t, of …

There is a very respectable argument for Scottish independence that surprisingly is rarely made by supporters.  It goes something like this. We want Scotland to be independent because we want Scotland to be a sovereign independent nation state just like all the others in the world and we don’t care …

By openly slandering the EFTA/EEA “Norway Option” for achieving Brexit in the event of a Leave vote, the Remain campaign and their allies in the media show that they are terrified of this sensible approach The Guardian is, of course, desperate for Britain to remain in the European Union. The vast …

How many superficial “eurosceptics” claim that they want to have a new relationship with the EU based on trade and cooperation, instead of political and judicial union? Many of these have claimed David Cameron’s fraudulent deal achieves this, which is a bad joke. Others are backing Remain claiming that a …