FRESH STARTS TRADE POLICIES

Andrea Leadsom's Fresh Start website has a number of policy documents including one on trade (HERE) which they call green papers although they are not official government documents at all.

The trade one is interesting because it reviews several options like the Norway and Swiss models as well as trading on WTO rules, the back stop if we trigger Article 50 and fail to get a trade agreement with the EU settled in two years and the other 27 members do not give us an extension.

SINGLE MARKET NO LONGER RELEVANT SAYS LEADSOM

Mrs Leadsom, in an interview with The Times (HERE), says the UK will just continue trading tariff free with the EU after Brexit - in spite of any number of warnings from senior politicians across the EU that we won't.  She is either quite brilliant or a complete fool. My money is on the latter.

More amazingly, Penny Mordant, in the same piece in The Independent claims, "... the unique selling point of Andrea is, that the other candidates haven't got anywhere near, is that she understands the single market and the free movement issue...."

An almighty awakening is coming.  Norman Tebbit has said he is backing Mrs Leadsom because Theresa May, widely seen as the best Home Secretary in years, hasn't been successful at the Home Office.  His premise seems to be because an extremely well respected and able politician has failed to solve the very difficult immigration issue, let's try a complete novice!  This is madness.

Andrea Leadsom

There is some strange stuff coming out about Mrs Leadsom, one of the candidates for PM, on Buzzfeed (HERE).  Her charities are effectively bankrolled by her own brother-in-law (who also funds Open Europe an anti-EU website) and were started in 2012 as if it was an attempt to raise her profile as an MP.  She was elected in 2010.

Also, when starting a company  to purchase three properties in 2004 she describes herself as an "investment banker" something she now claims she is not.

All very odd.