Amongst my serial “Remoaner” Twitter followers is one who attributes any snippet of news about economic, financial or business problems directly to the Brexit vote. This week he went to a whole new level, linking a particularly vile case of hate crime to the vote to leave the EU, implying my responsibility for it specifically.
With a dwindling but sufficiently vociferous group of people still in denial that the largest vote in British electoral history was for Brexit, it is important that talking Britain down does not become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is even more important that the Government presents a clear, consistent and collegiate programme for exiting the EU. This will minimise the inevitable uncertainty that risks unsettling already volatile markets or unnerving long-term investors.
The fact that the Prime Minister clearly “gets it” is reassuring to Brexit veterans like me. We now have a clear timeline for triggering Article 50 that we should stick to, however much certain Remoaners, dressed in Parliamentary accountability clothing, bleat on about the imperative for a vote in the Commons. MPs voted by a large margin to delegate our responsibility on In or Out to the people.
What would also be helpful now is a clear definition of the role and responsibilities of the major Cabinet players who are bringing it to fruition.
The role of the Foreign Secretary is to schmooze his foreign counterparts inside and outside of the EU and reassure them as to how “disappointment” at the Brexit vote can be translated into opportunity and advantage, especially on both sides of the Channel and the Atlantic. The job of the International Trade Secretary is to travel the globe whetting the appetite of neglected trading partners and gearing them up for signing new deals the day after Brexit kicks in. The job of the Brexit Secretary is to recruit and line up our negotiators and garner whatever intelligence about how we best play our hand.
Throughout all of this the role of the Chancellor and Treasury is crucial in working out what part of the £350m weekly contribution, if not now going to the NHS, goes where, and modelling tax scenarios to ensure the UK remains the best place to do business. Crucially, through City Minister Simon Kirby we need to reassure the City institutions that London remains the number one global capital for finance largely because of unilateral action we took in the 1980’s. If that doesn’t work then it is Singapore, Hong Kong and New York that benefit not Frankfurt and Paris. A 27 member EU really doesn’t benefit from the City of London going down the pan, quite the reverse.
At times it strikes me that some of the leading “Remain” Ministers, including the PM herself, are at risk of overcompensating to prove that they are all aboard the Brexit bus now. That would certainly explain some of the more hapless sloganising from Party conference about counting foreign workers (thereby replicating some of the stifling bureaucracy of the EU we are trying to escape.) We need workable proposals on taking back control of immigration, worked out by the Chancellor and Home Secretary rather more thoughtfully.
An innovation which we were developing as part of Andrea Leadsom’s leadership campaign in the summer was a “grand committee” of key players from business, fishing, farming, finance, law enforcement, environmental agencies and elsewhere, sitting alongside ministers to give first-hand advice on negotiation detail and workability.
I will admit I was slightly incredulous to see all the junior ministers in the Foreign Office, International Trade and Brexit Departments, bar one, so easily transitioning from Remain campaigners, telling us we would all go to hell in a handcart a few months ago, to fully paid up members of the “Brexit means Brexit” brigade. I am prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt but if we are to avoid a “Dog’s breakfast means dog’s breakfast” scenario then we need to stop the briefings, the counter-briefings, the slap-downs and the infighting headlines that the media so loves.
There really is a lot to be done. The goodwill of the people will extend well into next year if the government is seen to be getting on with the job rather than constantly squabbling or being slapped down by Number 10 trying to micro-manage every detail of Brexit. I have confidence in the people the Prime Minister has appointed to head up the most complicated job in British politics for generations. She needs to display it too, and they need to get on with repaying it with their actions in all our interests.