When anything really important is at stake, you know, saving peoples' lives or winning wars, organisations like the SAS or US Navy Seals always play a leading role. It is a lesson that cannot be learned too quickly. A decision is made and that decision is carried out efficiently with a singularity of purpose and with urgency. If two contrary views are desired you must decide on one. By trying to please everyone nothing gets done successfully.
The major decision of the UK to leave the EU was made democratically and had a decisive result. You cannot please the 15 million who lost without betraying the 17 million who won.
Everything since that historic day in June 2016 has been carried out indecisively and with no urgency and it is leading to a mess that will encumber everyone in the UK.
Almost a year passed before article 50 was delivered. Court cases, parliamentary votes, a catastrophic election, billions of pounds coceded and an unnecessary three year delay have resulted as well as the potentially disastrous downgrading of the UK's credit rating by Moody's.
Like seventeen plus million Brits my idealistic conscience screamed out NO very loudly indeed when I realised Theresa May had now put a further eighteen billion or so UK pounds on offer to the EU as well as two more years of subjugation. I imagined the greedy twisting hands of Junker, Barnier, Tusk and the rest reaching out to trouser the money on behalf of the EU and channel it into bloated pensions, harebrained schemes and all expenses paid trips.
What should have happened?
After Cameron's resignation and May's appointment a pro Brexit cabinet should have been put together. Article 50 should have been delivered immediately and the clock started ticking, with implementation completed by September 2018 not as now looks likely 2021. Much of the distractions of court cases and votes would have been negated, by removing uncertainty and not allowing the quislings who wanted to deny the will of the majority hope.
The EU should have been told that we will be leaving by September 2018 on World Trade Organisation rules unless they wish to strike a mutually beneficial trade deal quickly. We would pay not a penny after we leave as we began paying the second we entered. The disastrous General Election should have been run over four weeks, not the seven weeks that allowed Corbyn the time to lie about his giveaways and destroy the Conservative majority.
The top three GDP producers USA, China and Japan have already indicated their desires to make lucrative deals with the UK as have India and Canada who are also within the GDP world top ten. These countries will be the foundation of the UK's fantastic trade opportunities and it is ludicrous to wait for the EU to allow us to initiate these deals. They should have been ready for implementation in 2018.
All this would have given us control of £54.6 billion that the EU will now control between 2018 and 2021. Included in that would be £165 billion free money, our net contribution over the same period. Additionally we would have three years of developed trade with the countries mentioned above, as well as others including Australia, Brazil, and Chile who have all expressed an interest in trade deals with the UK.
Furthermore, we would have produced more goods ourselves as EU goods became more expensive and thus improved out poor balance of trade account with the EU.
The UK would have had certainty, the indecision that financial markets and credit rating agencies like Moody's so fear would have been removed and the UK would have regained the control of its laws borders and trade quickly, as the implicit promise of the referendum demanded.
So what now?
To paraphrase a famous saying, "If I was leaving the EU I wouldn't begin from this point." Sadly, we have to. The best thing to do now is to use the EU greed against them. They will try to negotiate even more exploitation. No, this must be understood to be our best and final offer.
It must be made clear privately, if not publicly, that if this offer is not accepted within a sharp timescale, it will be removed from the table. We will leave immediately without paying a penny as we have the legal right to do. We will adopt world trade rules and strike the best deal immediately with our friends across the world. We will adopt a trading position of low taxes and low regulation similar to those that have made Singapore the most business friendly country in the world and the whole country will compete tirelessly to make ourselves an economic super success as we have done over the last two centuries (for most of that time outside of the EU).
No threat but a determined commitment
This must not be a threat but a simple stating of the action we will take if our overly generous offer is not accepted by the EU. The whole country should demonstrate that although we prefer the offer we have made be accepted, we are content to adopt the second approach and will make it work. That way our course will be clear, people will understand and can make appropriate decisions and we can get on with making our own fortune immediately.
