10: #10 | Resignations, White Papers and No Deal – Brexit gets real

Our 10th episode is a whopper – they say a week is a long time in politics and it has never been truer than the last week or so in Brexit. In this episode we discuss the White Paper on the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU, the chaos that is the House of Commons and the ongoing preparations for a no deal. In this weeks episode Brian interviews Victoria Hewson from the Institute of Economic Affairs, a right wing think tank based in Brussels. They discuss the resignation of Boris Johnson and David Davis, how the Irish border issue could be solved and the broad strokes of the contents of the White Paper.  You can follow Victoria on twitter at @MissVHewson and the IEA over at @iealondon. See below for timestamps: 1:12: the guys discuss how crazy the last week was. 1:45: What happened in Westminster this week. 2:35: How important are the Labour Leavers in Westminster arithmetic? 4:00: Can Theresa May get anything through her Parliament? 4:45: Ian Paisley has been suspended but does it matter? 5:15: Will Sinn Féin take their seats in Westminster and defeat a Hard Brexit? 5:55: Ireland preparing for a Hard Brexit 8:38: Introduction of Victoria Hewson and discussion of the White Paper on the UK’s Future Trading Relationship with the EU 12:38: What’s the Brexiteer alternative to the White Paper? 14:27: How does regulatory divergence affect the Irish Border? 16:40: Do a trade deal first and then sort out Northern Ireland and the Border? 18:45: The uniqueness of Northern Ireland in carrying out customs checks and how we fix that problem 21:10: The UK Government’s ability to prepare an ambitious customs arrangement in Northern Ireland that has never occurred anywhere else in the world 23:54: The politics of the White Paper – will this deal fly with anyone? 26:39: The Economic Research Group: All bark but no bite in challenging Theresa May?