They just can’t help themselves. Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was on the morning round today and decided to gloomily declare – just 4 days before Trump’s inauguration – that Trump coming into office is going to be a “challenging time for anyone who is responsible for trade”. He went on to say that he’s “concerned” about any proposed trade tariffs because “the danger to the UK is greater than some comparable countries around”. Not exactly “art of the deal” material…
Reynolds, like the rest of the Cabinet, has a history of Trump-bashing saying in 2016 “We can’t just make stuff up to make ourselves feel better. That’s Trump-esque” and back in November saying Britain would side with the EU over the US if Trump sparked a trade war with China. Instead of focusing on the path of rejoining the EU and cosying up to China, Reynolds and his colleagues should be thinking less about alienating Trump and more about rolling out the red carpet….
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”