While I’m shitting on my own doorstep, what about this post from Paul Cotterill? This is another go-round on his idea of Labour mayors trying to take over the negotiations with the EU so that Liverpool and Manchester (oddly he doesn’t mention London or Sadiq Khan) can stay in the EEA, but it still doesn’t explain how this could possibly work. Wouldn’t that imply a customs border on the M62? How would freedom of movement work with regard to the rest of the country? Wouldn’t we need ID cards or worse?
Also, what standing would they have to do this? What would happen if the UK government disagreed, seeing as it owns all the governmental functions that are involved? Why would the EU delegation bother? This is a silly idea, and if Andrew Lilico or the disgraced Liam Fox offered it, everyone I know would hoot with laughter and start swapping memes about passport control in Standedge Cutting. But I see people taking it seriously.
I just think this is a case of mogging, as in Jacob Rees-Mogg – my argument doesn’t actually hold water, so I’m going to mogg, scatter it with obscure quotes and what MPs apparently think of as “long words”. Note that it’s quite possible to mogg without really intending to do so.
Habermas schmabermas. The idea of city centres staying in the EU doesn’t make sense, you can’t make it make sense, and its place is in the inevitable BBC I Love the 2010s Summer of Brexit episode when that rolls around.
The idea of city centres staying in the EU doesn’t make sense
Probably not, but what Cotterill’s propos^Wsugge^Wadumbrating is “Greater Manchester and Merseyside” staying in the EU, i.e. everything from Rochdale and Stockport to Hoylake and Southport. Barmy, but differently barmy.
Coming up with solutions to Brexit’s many conundrums is a mug’s game. That applies to this, as well as the wheezes that might allow the UK to opt out of FoM of European citizens while being in the Single Market and the question of the Irish border.
It’s the responsibility of Brexiteers to propose solutions to the issues thrown up by their airy promises, while the rest of us save our breath to point out the contradictions and broken promises.
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