Liam Fox is right: we need to talk about Britain’s trade problem

When Theresa May appointed three of the most outspoken and free-minded Brexiteers to her Cabinet, her fellow Remainers were delighted. Surely the only question is what they’d do first: implode or disembowel each other? Ever since, the speeches they’ve made have been seen through this narrative. First, David Davis was seen to have gaffed for pointing out that it’s “improbable” that the UK stays in the European single market. And today, we have Liam Fox’s remarks to Conservative Way Forward about Britain’s trade problem.

A friend of mine was at the event, and took a video. Here’s the transcript: CoffeeHousers can judge for themselves if his remarks are really so outrageous.

“This country is not the free trading nation that it once was. We have become too lazy, and too fat on our successes in previous generations. And when I look at a country built on free trade, as an outward-looking, forward-looking nation, and I look today at the proportion of British businesses that export beyond our border – what is it? 80 per cent? 60 per cent? 11 per cent.