The UK government is, it seems, set on ending its post-Brexit transition without a deal at the end of this year.
This would seem inconceivable if the government were not led by Boris Johnson. The idea seems to be that, in the midst of the pandemic, nobody would notice the additional disruption imposed by an overnight break in economic relations with the country’s most important partners and eternal neighbours. Here are seven reasons why this is a disgraceful idea.
First, it is not what the Leave campaign actually promised. The country was repeatedly told it would be easy to secure an excellent free trade agreement, because it held “all the cards”. A no-deal exit is far from such a deal.