We are being failed by the current debate on trade. Our joint letter from trade professionals in the Telegraph today, calls for a reset of the conversation. Here’s the excellent article from @pmdfoster on the letter 1/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/11/27/boris-johnsons-arbitrary-brexit-deadline-setting-will-damage/

And here’s the letter in full 2/

A poor debate with hyperbolic claims on all sides means worse policy, a degradation of public trust, and an undermining of support for any future deals before they are even negotiated. It also damages the UK’s international reputation. 3/

If/when we enter the next stage of the Brexit process - defining future UK-EU relations & striking new FTAs - we seem set to repeat the mistakes of the previous stage, i.e. ignoring the inevitable trade offs, pedalling easy answers, and insisting on near-impossible deadlines. 4/

We suggest three correctives to avoid this: 1. focus on content, not timing. The only concern on timing should be that we take as long as is needed to get it right. 5/

2. Commit to greater openness. We need to see extensive consultations before and greater transparency during negotiations. Secrecy breeds fear & corrodes support - the current NHS issue is a case in point. These lessons should’ve been learned with TTIP 6/

3. Re-anchor the debate in fact. We need an Office for Budget Responsibility equivalent for trade, providing an impartial, apolitical assessment of trade policy proposals and performance. 7/

Trade is returning to the debate in the UK after a long absence. We haven’t started well. If we want to build a successful independent trade policy, things need to change, fast 8/8

Ps this is about the poor standard of political debate, not the excellent work that civil servants have been diligently getting on with, despite this noise.