Emerging Ironies of Brexit

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IvanV
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Emerging Ironies of Brexit

Post by IvanV » Tue Nov 23, 2021 2:43 pm

According to parts of the right wing press today (BBC survey of front pages of papers - see lower down for national press), Frost is complaining that high taxes will damage the opportunities of Brexit. I suppose he's lining up a scapegoat when Brexit doesn't deliver the benefits he promoted it on. Albeit possibly not an argument convenient for his employer.

But it strikes me how ironical is the present situation. Before Brexit, the right wing was complaining about how the social chapter of EU policy weighed heavily on Britain, and we should escape it so that we can be free to limit social expenditures and thus thrive. Now those right-wingers running our post-Brexit government are talking about the importance of social expenditurs and levelling up, and increasing taxes to pay for it. Funny how they have come to realise that social measures are important after all, and perhaps the EU didn't have it wrong.

Another irony I find is that public sector procurement has become so much more bureacratic of late. There are all sorts of rules in tenders. You have to demonstrate compliance with loads of new rules about, guess what, delivering social value. Far from freeing ourselves from social value obligations, they have been thrown at public sector contractors, who will doubtless deliver very little apart from words in tender documents. And far from releasing ourselves from EU red tape, we have grasped the opportunity of Brexit to tie ourselves up in new, non-EU-standard, red tape.

Anyone else spotted any ironies like that?

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jimbob
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Re: Emerging Ironies of Brexit

Post by jimbob » Thu Nov 25, 2021 5:05 pm

IvanV wrote:
Tue Nov 23, 2021 2:43 pm
According to parts of the right wing press today (BBC survey of front pages of papers - see lower down for national press), Frost is complaining that high taxes will damage the opportunities of Brexit. I suppose he's lining up a scapegoat when Brexit doesn't deliver the benefits he promoted it on. Albeit possibly not an argument convenient for his employer.

But it strikes me how ironical is the present situation. Before Brexit, the right wing was complaining about how the social chapter of EU policy weighed heavily on Britain, and we should escape it so that we can be free to limit social expenditures and thus thrive. Now those right-wingers running our post-Brexit government are talking about the importance of social expenditurs and levelling up, and increasing taxes to pay for it. Funny how they have come to realise that social measures are important after all, and perhaps the EU didn't have it wrong.

Another irony I find is that public sector procurement has become so much more bureacratic of late. There are all sorts of rules in tenders. You have to demonstrate compliance with loads of new rules about, guess what, delivering social value. Far from freeing ourselves from social value obligations, they have been thrown at public sector contractors, who will doubtless deliver very little apart from words in tender documents. And far from releasing ourselves from EU red tape, we have grasped the opportunity of Brexit to tie ourselves up in new, non-EU-standard, red tape.

Anyone else spotted any ironies like that?
That's not exactly ironic. The Single Market did reduce the cost of doing business, and anything that has a supply chain involving the single market will now have to have more red tape.
Have you considered stupidity as an explanation

IvanV
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Re: Emerging Ironies of Brexit

Post by IvanV » Thu Nov 25, 2021 5:14 pm

jimbob wrote:
Thu Nov 25, 2021 5:05 pm
IvanV wrote:
Tue Nov 23, 2021 2:43 pm
Another irony I find is that public sector procurement has become so much more bureacratic of late. There are all sorts of rules in tenders. You have to demonstrate compliance with loads of new rules about, guess what, delivering social value. Far from freeing ourselves from social value obligations, they have been thrown at public sector contractors, who will doubtless deliver very little apart from words in tender documents. And far from releasing ourselves from EU red tape, we have grasped the opportunity of Brexit to tie ourselves up in new, non-EU-standard, red tape.
That's not exactly ironic. The Single Market did reduce the cost of doing business, and anything that has a supply chain involving the single market will now have to have more red tape.
Your point has some general truth to it, especially when involving anything to do with borders. More red tape will be involved with borders. But this is a domestic matter. It is not a consequence of leaving the EU there is more red tape. It is entirely a domestic policy decision the government has chosen to have more red tape in this case.

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jimbob
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Re: Emerging Ironies of Brexit

Post by jimbob » Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:26 pm

IvanV wrote:
Thu Nov 25, 2021 5:14 pm
jimbob wrote:
Thu Nov 25, 2021 5:05 pm
IvanV wrote:
Tue Nov 23, 2021 2:43 pm
Another irony I find is that public sector procurement has become so much more bureacratic of late. There are all sorts of rules in tenders. You have to demonstrate compliance with loads of new rules about, guess what, delivering social value. Far from freeing ourselves from social value obligations, they have been thrown at public sector contractors, who will doubtless deliver very little apart from words in tender documents. And far from releasing ourselves from EU red tape, we have grasped the opportunity of Brexit to tie ourselves up in new, non-EU-standard, red tape.
That's not exactly ironic. The Single Market did reduce the cost of doing business, and anything that has a supply chain involving the single market will now have to have more red tape.
Your point has some general truth to it, especially when involving anything to do with borders. More red tape will be involved with borders. But this is a domestic matter. It is not a consequence of leaving the EU there is more red tape. It is entirely a domestic policy decision the government has chosen to have more red tape in this case.
Fair enough.

One thing the single market did, was prevent ministers in one country from introducing too many populist tendering rules.
Have you considered stupidity as an explanation

IvanV
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Re: Emerging Ironies of Brexit

Post by IvanV » Fri Nov 26, 2021 2:30 pm

jimbob wrote:
Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:26 pm
One thing the single market did, was prevent ministers in one country from introducing too many populist tendering rules.
Excellent point.

And the irony there is that is precisely the kind of reason that Mrs Thatcher pushed so hard for the single market.

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jimbob
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Re: Emerging Ironies of Brexit

Post by jimbob » Fri Nov 26, 2021 4:19 pm

IvanV wrote:
Fri Nov 26, 2021 2:30 pm
jimbob wrote:
Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:26 pm
One thing the single market did, was prevent ministers in one country from introducing too many populist tendering rules.
Excellent point.

And the irony there is that is precisely the kind of reason that Mrs Thatcher pushed so hard for the single market.
You just know that someone like Johnson would be unable to resist pulling any levers he could*. Not really to achieve anything, as much as an expression of power, and to see his actions having an effect.


*and then getting bored
Have you considered stupidity as an explanation

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