Why the Lib Dems’ single market stance matters

Being the third party in a first-past-the-post electoral system, which nearly always narrows the choice of who will form the government to the two main parties, is a dismal fate at times.

But for the Lib Dems, the constraint of knowing that you will never form the next government also comes with real freedom. You can, in short, mention the elephant in the room.

Which is why the Lib Dems can state quite clearly in their manifesto that they will “fix the UK’s broken relationship with Europe and tear down the Conservatives’ damaging barriers to trade.”

This would be a four-step process:

Unilateral steps to rebuild the relationship with the EU – i.e. talking nicely

Rebuilding confidence by agreeing partnerships and associations with EU institutions.

Improving trade by negotiating vet and plant health agreements and mutual recognition of standards.

And once we are all getting on spiffingly again and trade has improved, rejoin the Single Market.

Frankly, it is a mad world where neither Labour nor the Tories can say sensible things like this or even mention Brexit at all.

Of the four points, the first two are no-brainers which even the most rabid Brexit supporter should be able to sign up to – but then they can’t even do that. Their hatred of the EU and all its works has long made the late Ian Paisley’s claim that Pope John Paul II was in fact the antichrist look like a serious subject for rational debate.

The third point, that we should accept EU standards in order to reduce friction and cost at the border, is really just common sense and bowing to the inevitable. The EU is a rule setter and if you want to trade with it you have to obey its rules or face the consequences.

Which is why even the Tories have given up on regulatory divergence – the idea that we could break free from EU “red tape” and undercut the poor fools turned out to be economic suicide. But then the government has not retreated enough to stop checks at the border which adversely affects 50% of our trade.

Finally, since the Brexit referendum campaign said we would stay in the Single Market or at least have all the benefits of membership of the Single Market but none of the costs or obligations, it is difficult to see why this is an issue either. But it is.

Since the Lib Dems are not going to form the next government, I won’t bother outlining their tax policies or planning reforms, which might make you wonder why I have written about their European policy. It is simple really.

They are going to be the only adults in the room, whoever wins the election. Their logic is impeccable, their ambitions manageable and their aim patriotic and immensely beneficial.

The Tories, once they have lost the vast resources of being in government and many of their MPs, will be reduced to sniping from the sidelines, consumed by yet another civil war and a hostile takeover from Reform.

The Labour government should then be able to and will need to listen to what the Lib Dems are proposing and shamelessly steal their policies.

It is the fate of the third party in British politics, but it’s a noble fate.