Fox trot: Liam Fox’s plan for a free trade revolution

I meet Liam Fox at a tavern on St Martins Lane. It’s spitting with rain outside the pub, covered in wood panelling floor-to-ceiling and eclectic memorabilia on every wall. We’re amongst just a handful of patrons, surrounded by empty tables spread out in accordance with social distancing guidelines. ‘People will say in my own constituency that they’re operating at about 40 per cent capacity’, Fox mentions when we’re talking about the prospects of a V-shaped recovery. He’s not optimistic: ‘It’s really hard to say… maybe is the answer’. 

It’s a Sunday afternoon, but it’s clear the Rt Hon MP for North Somerset isn’t distinguishing between weekdays and weekends right now: between dealing with Covid concerns at home and campaigning to be the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation — the global international body that sets the rules for trade between countries — Fox’s days aren’t measured by the working week, but rather by the series of deadlines for the nominees.