Macroeconomics: UK economy, IB Economics

Satire is dead, long live satire. 

It seems that the government have spent another £77.6m on contracts with ferry companies to ensure that they've got post-Brexit freight capacity. That's in addition to the £87m they paid out to ferry companies prior to the last Brexit deadline.

The plus side? All the companies in receipt of these contracts are, at least, ferry companies. Unlike Seaborne Freight, which received a £13.8m contract last time but which has since gone bust. I hate to suggest that the taxpayer won't see any of that money again...

Coronavirus - another sector is looking for state aid. This time, it's ferry companies. 

Just when you think the whole Brexit saga can't get any more complicated, bizarre and downright odd, stories like this appear.

It seems that the National Audit Office (NAO) told the government that it was likely to get sued over its no-deal ferry services. And it did.

You couldn't script it; apart from the fact that you could. P&O are now taking the government to court over its settlement with Eurotunnel in the aftermath of the no-deal ferry debacle.

Yet another ringing endorsement of the policymaking skills of Chris Grayling.

There are certain things that you can't script - and Brexit appears to be one of them. This time, governmental Mr.Magoo figure, Chris Grayling's department are having to pay out to those firms that they'd made contingency plans with, in the event of a no-deal Brexit on 29 March.

That's quite some opportunity cost - and indicative of the way that the whole process has been managed. 

One for the Brexit file - under 'F' for ferries. Or farce.

There's something rotten in the state of Ramsgate: the Ramsgate council decision on the future of the port has been postponed. But the small print makes interesting reading - accurately summarised by the BBC's Jonty Bloom: "It can't afford to spend this money on the port's facilities if no ferries use them, but the ferries will only run if there is a hard Brexit, something the government is committed to avoiding."

You heard it here first: Seaborne Freight will be in a position to run Ramsgate to Ostend ferries by 29 March.

That is all. But it's symptomatic of the farce that Brexit has become, that this degree of preparedness is the norm.

The Brexit farce takes yet another fantastically turn, with the news that the UK government have already contracted with a number of ferry companies in the event that there's a 'no deal' Brexit. Apart from the fact that one of them isn't a ferry company. 

And the company in question, Seaborne, has taken this to a next level by appearing to use terminology more becoming of a takeaway food company. You couldn't script it - except that you probably can.

Another prominent business has announced job cuts, with P&O Ferries looking to lay off 1,000 staff. This reflects a decline in the number of ferry passengers and will have a multiplied effect on the local economy.

However, it's also quite controversial as the owners of P&O, DP World are based in Dubai, and some wonder whether it's appropriate for a company which has received so much state aid to make people redundant.  

If you want to quantify the opportunity cost of Brexit, this is a good place to start. The UK government has entered into the 2nd round of no-deal ferry contracts and this time it has actually used established ferry operators. Remarkably, my bid, submitted having never won a ferry contract in my life, has been overlooked.

However, I would alert the keen eyed to the detail: the UK has already paid out £51 million to cancel a first round of no-deal ferry contracts. And in the event of these contracts being cancelled it will pay out another £11 plus million. I didn't see these figures on the side of a bus. 

It would be interesting to see compare the size of the contracts with other, so-called spending pledges. I suspect the cost of the ferry contracts won't be appearing on the side of any buses in the near future. 

Words fail me.

I wonder if we'll see those details on the side of a bus?

The extent of the Brexit lunacy about to be foisted upon us is becoming clear - the government has spent £7m on a fortnight's worth of ferries. The fortnight is, of course, the SI unit of ferries.

That and getting port facilities open is the starting point - where will it end. And this from the party of economic competence. Where will it end?  

Whoa! That's quite an unnecessary opportunity cost. And factor in the cost of administering the original contracts and so on, and well...you get my drift.

I wonder if the Transport Secretary should be personally liable? And his critics might also suggest that he's also responsible for the state of the criminal justice system. Cynics might suggest that the fact that he ran the Prime Minister's leadership campaign is the only thing keeping him in a job right now.

I'm sure that Brexit, the play - a farce, presumably, perhaps subtitled "Oops, Mrs.May There Go My Bloomers" - has already been written. However, this little sub-plot must surely be included.

The contract with Seaborne Freight, a company with no ferries, to provide ferries from Ramsgate, in the aftermath of Brexit has been cancelled, because its Irish backer, Arklow Shipping has withdrawn its support. Who could have predicted this? 

There are some aspects of Brexit that defy explanation: this is one.

Apparently, the decision of Thanet council about spending cuts has implications for the future of Ramsgate as a ferry hub for services to Ostend. That £13.8m contract with Seaborne Freight, who themselves own no ferries, looks like a stroke of genius in this light.

Government failure?

Brexit. Crisis management. Government failure? 

What I'd give to be a 'ferry' company having been given a £13.8 million contract. And having no ferries. However, were I that lucky, I'd have discovered that the mayor of Ostend doesn't believe that his town will be ready to receive ferries by March this year. And why would they be? 

More Brexit. More uncertainty.