As the possibility of no deal gets closer, the hyperbole is getting more hyperbolic. But catastrophe metaphors like crashing out, falling off a cliff edge, and burning in hell ignore the less than exciting fact that leaving the EU without a deal leaves us, at most, with transitional problems that can be managed.
Despite what Donald Tusk says, people who campaigned to leave the EU thought carefully about how best to overcome any temporary problems the absence of a free trade arrangement might bring. Most notably Business For Britain published a massive 1,000-page analysis called Change or Go, How Britain would gain influence and prosper outside an unreformed EU as early as 2016.
A year later Civitas published an updated analysis on how to overcome one of the potentially most serious transitional problems: that some industries would face very high tariffs. There is a long version of the analysis here and a summary here. It found that British industries could be fully protected from the impact of potential tariff costs if the UK left without a deal. A
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in