'Fox is a man with a job and a title but as yet neither a role nor a plan'
Disgraced former defence secretary Liam Fox delivered a speech on free trade at Manchester Town Hall this morning. Well, it was billed as a speech but actually had more in common with a sixth form economics essay.
Ranging from Adam Smith to North Korea to the Corn Laws, the now secretary for international trade celebrated ‘the glorious joys of free trade’, doing nothing to acknowledge the challenges and injustices it creates.
Here are our four key takeaways.
1. Liam Fox has no understanding of Brexit
It hardly comes as news, but Fox has once again demonstrating the the government is flailing round in the dark when it comes to exiting the EU, relying on truisms and platitudes rather than policies.
I understand Liam Fox is making a speech about free trade whilst proposing an exit from the largest free trade area in the world
— Martin Shapland (@MShapland) September 29, 2016
Fox believes that ‘the UK is in a prime position to become a world leader in free trade because of the brave and historic decision of the British people to leave the European Union.’
But he has yet to provide any guidance on how we get from here to there, and avoid the massive economic dangers that lie along the way.
As Pat McFadden of Open Europe puts it, ‘you have to feel for Mr Fox – a man with a job and a title but as yet neither a role nor a plan.’
2. Liam Fox’s Conservatism owes more to the 1840s than the 21st century
Brexit’s more fervent supporters included imperial nostalgists, who believed that by leaving the EU Britain could turn back the clock return to the glory days of the Empire.
The days when, as Fox put it, ‘a small island perched on the edge of Europe became the world’s largest and most powerful trading network.’
No mention of course, of the fact that through its zealous campaigns for free trade, Britain appropriated the resources of other nations, brutalised their people and repeatedly instigated war and famine.
All of that was considered tolerable because, to quote Fox again, Britain ‘pioneered canal networks and invented railways’, and exported ‘ideas of commerce, law and liberty.’
Unfettered free trade concentrates power and wealth in the hands of the most powerful, abandoning the most vulnerable. Plenty of modernising Conservatives and economists have acknowledged that. It’s concerning that Britain’s secretary for international trade has not.
3. Just as Michael Gove has had enough of experts, Liam Fox is finished with geography
Fox says we are at the the beginning of a ‘post-geography trading world’, which will undoubtedly complement his post-truth approach to politics.
The idea is that we should no longer be bound to trade with those who are physically close to use, such as our EU neighbours, but rather stretch our trading relationships around the world.
Fox disregards the fact that trading heavy goods and agricultural products around the world is much more costly, more energy intensive and environmentally destructive — transport still requires labour and fuel even in this post-geography era.
Moreover, he all but ignores that fact that unrestrained free trade has been disastrous for many communities in Britain, such a Welsh steel workers, beyond a vague promise to ‘take action against anti-market measures such as dumping’ — something successive Tory governments have resoundingly failed to do.
4. Liam Fox doesn’t have any power
A few weeks ago, Nick Clegg said that Fox ‘doesn’t have a job and doesn’t appear to have realised that yet,’ predicting that he will quit in a huff within 18 months.
Indeed, until Britain has formally left the EU, it cannot take significant steps towards new trade deals, which would leave Fox sitting on his hands for at least another two years.
What’s more, it’s clear that Theresa May has incredibly little trust in her Brexit triumvirate of Fox, Boris Johnson and David Davis. She has given them little input into decision making, and repeatedly slapped them down when they speak out publicly.
Today’s speech, with it’s sham intellectualism and complete absence of policy proposals, was quite clearly a sop to Fox’s pride.
Number 10 was happy to give the secretary a day out, but won’t let him say anything of substance.
Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin is editor of Left Foot Forward. Follow her on Twitter
9 Responses to “Four things we learned from Liam Fox’s speech on ‘the glorious joys of free trade’”
Misha Carder
Yesterday people’ like Liam Fox – just don’t get it. It seems like they only read their own press-releases. Even some senior Tories are saying that the Neo Lib/ laissez-faire days are finished; ‘end-of’. People are wising up to mind-control mantras, and things said in a fait-accompli manner. ‘Brexit mean Brexit’, ‘we are where we are’. Well, here in Bath we are not giving up. 70% voted Remain and as for trading with totally unspeakable regimes – No Way! What we want is the what should have happened, if David Cameron hadn’t been bounced into having the Referendum in 2016 instead of his original 2017 – by Lytton Crosby. A declaration that Article 50 will not be triggered until the end of 2017.Then everyone would know where they are i.e/ a strong possibility of remaining in the EU or at least a realistic compromise.
A year would have seen natural changes in the EU – as other countries had elections and had to take note of the public’s anxiety that uncontrolled immigration in a short time-span was de-stabilising and that Germany’s screws on Greece would lead it to having the leave the euro and defaulting on punishing debts (Pay-day lenders charging un-repayable rates multiplied by billions) and other EU anomalies : the annual move to Luxembourg to keep the Luxs’ happy; 20% of farming budget going to large land-owners -to name but a few. The £65 million being spent on the 500 civil servants hired to staff the new Brexit departments – should have gone to the department pursuing un-paid taxes. In summary: sane, thinking people, want joined-up decision making, by those in positions of executive power. People who have passed an emotional -intelligence test; who believe that a sustainable fair society – is more important than the top 10% fat cats getting even richer.
Richard Clark
Typical Fox diatribe in which the realities of the modern world are conveniently masked by an ideology that belongs to the past. Nothing of any substance as usual from this appalling man. As Anna Soubry subsequently pointed out, the man is deluded. What about the real world of tariffs and non tariffs trade barriers? If I was a businessman attending this event I would have quickly realised I was learning nothing beyond a seminar in GCSE economics, and immediately walked out.
David Davies
If you wanted to achieve anything, you would not put Curly, Larry and Moe in charge.
Impending farkakta – Gabriel Vents
[…] those areas left most deprived and forgotten by the arrogant drek. Arrogant shlemiel Liam Fox is demonstrating the flayling of the drek over Brexit. The prospects for Darlington are rightly […]