In Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, nine-year old Oliver, fed up with the miserable gruel he and the other boys in the parish workhouse were given, walks up to the master and asks for more. The next day, there was an announcement on the workhouse gate offering five pounds to anyone willing to take Oliver off the hands of the parish.
The UK, it seems, also wants more from the European Union, not only access to the single market but also exemption from the free movement of labour. It has put not one, but two Olivers, to work on this request. Oliver Letwin is the government minister (yet another old Etonian at the top of the Conservative Party) who is responsible for a new unit (the ‘Brexit unit’) within the Cabinet Office. This unit will lead the civil service work for the Brexit negotiations and prepare options and advice for the new prime minister.… Read the rest