The cliff edges nearer because May doesn’t want to split party!

And again Mrs May refuses to say that the NHS will be safe from a Deal with Trump's USA

Do you really fancy a USA style halth care system? Really. 350m was a lie- and now NHS is up for sale to Trump- and people call it 'taking back control?'. Perhaps should be on the Trade's thread.

Maizie & PECS that was the point I was trying to make to Lyndie who said she had eaten salad from outside the UK.

or the tea & coffee! or chocolate....

We could never grow enough wheat for the bread alone!

The only way we can be self sufficient is to eat whatever is in season.

We really can't be self sufficient, nonnie. We haven't been self sufficient for a long, long, time. Even if we only eat stuff that's in season.

Lyndie if you insist on eating salad at this time of year you can be sure it will be imported. The only way we can be self sufficient is to eat whatever is in season.

Good post Crystal I have known for a long time that civil servants have been moved from their normal department and back filled with new staff. All the negotiations will be being done by CSs with MPs just being the figureheads. We have seen with the ferry debacle that some of them are not very good at their jobs but I doubt if anyone will lose their job as a result.

Even if Brexit stopped today there would be a huge bill to reduce the CS to its original numbers. So many who complain about the cost of the EU seem to be unaware of the cost of leaving.

petra, could you please give links and information about live animal exports being enforced on us by EU rules. I am truly interested.

And also about UK lamb exported to FRance and being sold as French lamb. These are very important statements you made, and I really would like to have more factual information. Thanks.

I’m not sure why people clamouring for Brexit have so much faith in our politicians to be capable of achieving marvellous trade deals, boost the economy, become self sufficient in just about everything, when the current bunch have just led us into political crisis and economic decline. A friend’s daughter is a civil servant who has just been moved from her current job in a key department, along with 200 others from the same department to work on data protection after Brexit. None knows what they are doing , which seems to consist of phoning round companies and telling them what probably will or won’t happen. I also have a lawyer friend who has come out of retirement to work for the government on Brexit. She should publish her thoughts on this as it’s hilarious. Piss up and brewery come to mind. Plus she’s getting paid shedloads. Hope you May supporters still convinced she is doing a great job and our government will be looking after everyone’s interests and not just their cronies, and you are all so pleased with how things are going.

My thoughts exactly GabriellaG54

We cannot be self sufficient in food. We couldn't do it in WWII and there are now some 20 million more mouths to feed. (WWII population 45 million, current population 65 million).

Apparently the large supermarkets have a choice of 50,000
Products. I live in the SW and locals do the majority of the jobs. Although it’s not the same in all parts of the country as you say PECS.

Lyndie I agree re buying more local and seasonal too. But not sure we could replicate the quantity and range of fruits and vegetables the public currently expect/need. We currently need to use immigrant workers to get in the harvests we already have & I can't see we will have sufficient locals to take the additional work on.. which is why we have seasonal workers in the first place.
We will have to get used to paying more and having less choice

We need to be more self sufficient in the basics. We are obsessed with importing. My salad today was from Spain, Italy and Morocco. That’s not environmentally friendly nor is just in time. We have to start investing in our own country and exporting. The Scandinavian countries have such small populations most the size of London, a different proposition when you have nearly 70 million. Taxpayers pay a tariff at the moment as a form of subscription.

????????PECS

GG13 & GG54 is OK?

Gabriella- then you can say the same about everything, plastics packaging, recycling, cutting down on energy use - killing the world... why bother

just go on making arms to kill even more. Why bother at all.

GabriellaG54 it's a pain that our abbreviations get mixed up. We can usually work it out!!

I also have a problem with the EU accounts not being put forward for an audit.

It is illegal for my company, so it should be illegal for the EU which is actually one large corrupt conglomerate.

Yes Anja I know that ( outside chance we could stay in a customs union but not the single market.)
Whether it woukd be the right move is another matter.

Onneker I have very few lovely romantic views on life,
But refuse to be sucked into the despondent negative attitude that because we are leaving the EU, life as we know it will not carry on, that our food will be vile, all standards dropped and no interest in green policies etc etc.
The Conservatives won’t always be in power ( if that worries you) and there are other countries in Europe who possibly aren’t even as good as the UK.Yes, the Nordic countries are very good on green matters.

Hmm...I really think that it's futile asking TELLING us in the UK that we have to use certain light bulbs and lower power vacuum cleaners etc while China and India (amongst others) are huge polluters. That polluted air doesn't stay hanging about over Asia, it permeates our atmosphere too and they do nothing to ameliorate it.
Anyway, why would anyone want to stay hooked up to a regime which refuses to have it's accounts audited?
Imagine if all businesses were to refuse.
I'm sick of being a European. I'm British, get me out.

I suppose the reason some Remainers have concerns about the potential for 'doom & gloom' scenarios is because atm many of the agreed safety /eco policies are those shared with the EU.
If when we are no longer bound by those agreements and we become keener to align with US /China (not known for their pioneering approach to climate change) will we be strong enough to maintain more hopeful climate change policies? It is a worry!

Ladies
If anyone wishes to refer to me in a comment or respond to a comment I make, please, use my full moniker, otherwise GG sometimes gets mixed up with GrannyGravy13 if you use just GG.
That is precisely why I changed part of my name.
At least please differentiate by typing GabriellaG, even if you're pushed for the extra second it would take to type 54.
Thanks to all.

petra, link to both those statements please.

lemongrove there is an outside chance that we may be able to stay within the customs union but outside the single market.

I think the French have a big influence on the live export market as our wonderful Welsh lamb ( the best in the world) is exported live, slaughtered in France and labelled French Lamb

I forgot to point out the obvious * it's against eu rules*