Daily Brexit Update: Friday 13th July 2018
The US President, Donald Trump told the Sun that should Theresa May's Chequers based Brexit plan get the go ahead, we will 'probably not' get a UK/US trade deal. Wonder if that's a knee-jerk reaction to the Donald Baby Blimp?
Trump also ignored some of the niceties when he said that Boris Johnson was 'very talented' and added he had 'what it takes' to be a great Prime Minister of the UK.
And the US President also said that the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has done a 'terrible job on terror'.
So, that's the second US President in the space of a few years trying, by public pronouncement, to help the UK form its own political future – with both saying that a particular route we follow will jeopardise UK/US relations in one way or another. But at least Trump didn't say we're at the back of a 'queue'.
But he started the job of trying to re-structure UK government policy not on UK soil but at the NATO summit (video):
But what's this! Nigel Farage, the former UKIP leader, was behind the whole Trump business?
Nigel Farage tells me on This Week that he’s been winding up Trump and his team on Brexit and was a guiding spirit behind tomorrow’s Trump article in the Sun.
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) July 12, 2018
Brillo accuses @Nigel_Farage of winding up Team Trump to take the line he is taking, Nigel deflects but does not deny. My understanding is that Brillo is completely on the money.
— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) July 12, 2018
And as the former UKIP press officer, Gawain Towler, says maybe Theresa May should have given Nigel the job of liaising with The Donald!
You know, maybe Mrs May should have used @Nigel_Farage as her link with the Whitehouse. pic.twitter.com/MlRLTyfRDO
— Gawain Towler (@GawainTowler) July 12, 2018
UKIP MEP Patrick O'Flynn is enjoying the moment though:
I think a sceptical UK audience (ie me) is now appreciating at first hand Trump's ability to give a despised political establishment a fit of the vapours.
— Patrick O'Flynn (@oflynnmep) July 13, 2018
And finally, the Speaker, John Bercow, had to suspend proceedings for five minutes over the dissemination of the Brexit Deal White Paper (video).
And according the FT, all the government is doing is unveiling plans for a soft Brexit!
