My colleague Andrew Rawnsley and I have both drawn attention to the catastrophe that could have occurred during the pandemic if supply lines had not been preserved through Britain’s membership of the European single market.
True, there was panic buying and there were some shortages; but the worst fears were not realised. This was almost certainly because there were none of the kind of bureaucratic holdups that would have occurred if we had already departed from the customs union and, more importantly, the single market.
There were reports of a U-turn last Friday. Thanks to desperate pressure from the business world, and an injection of common sense into the Cabinet Office, the government is planning to relax border checks temporarily on goods entering the UK from 1 January 2021, whether or not there is a “deal”. Yet although we are enjoying a period of grace, one sentiment still rings out loud and clear: this demented government is determined to leave the single market come what may.
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