There are few ministers more adept at reframing acts of self-harm as public service announcements Time can play tricks. But some of us can distinctly recall Boris Johnson and Michael Gove reassuring the country back in 2016 that not only would the UK retain access to the single market after Brexit, but that we’d also end up with a better deal. So it was somewhat disconcerting to hear the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster making a statement, outlining the government’s exciting £705m “let’s get going” advertising campaign, in which he basically told the Commons that everything we now got for free and with no hassle was about to get a whole lot more expensive and time-consuming.Not that Gove put his argument in those terms. Then there are few cabinet ministers more adept at reframing acts of deliberate self-harm as public service announcements. You might think that leaving it until five and a half months before the UK leaves the EU – especially at a time when the full impacts of the coronavirus on the economy have yet to be determined – might be a little late in the day for the government to be finally getting round to working out the bare outline of its customs and trading Brexit infrastructures. But for the Govester, such last-minute planning is merely a sign of how well he has things under control. Continue reading...
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jul/13/gove-delivers-lorry-load-of-oven-ready-brexit-with-no-ingredients