Why The Brexit Mindset Is So Damaging

I usually describe myself as a scientist if someone asks me what I do.  But I am also a businessman, though it isn't the part of my life I most enjoy.  With science you are always learning new things.  You get to learn a lot in business too. It isn't as satisfying though.  It doesn't have the same universal applicability that science does.  Gravity is forever.  VAT is just one of those things.  But like everyone else I need cash so I am stuck with it.


It turns out that a lot of science skills are applicable in business. Rationally assessing information and diligently and dispassionately working out what it means is pretty much the essence of both practices.  But something you can't very often do is carry out a controlled experiment.  And as every good scientist will tell you, an experiment without a control can be seriously misleading.

As it happens, the Covid-19 crisis has provided me with an unexpected opportunity to get the results what is very close to a controlled experiment.  Early on I came up with a pandemic related product - nothing complicated but effective enough.  I gave it to a manufacturer I work with a lot as gift.  I rightly guessed that they'd get some interest in it.  This in turn has led to some business for me supporting the product.  A big part of my business, and I think a lot of others, is turning sprats into mackerels.

Two companies shipped it to America, where there were some regulatory issues.  The first of the two was rapidly in touch as soon as it hit the dock in the States, and was put on hold.  I worked with them to solve it.  I thoroughly researched the regulations.  I looked up public pronouncements by the FDA that were relevant.    I reviewed what was on the market already.  I then looked at the correspondence, and talked through the details of the situation with the people who had been dealing with it.  We identified what we thought were the sticking points and what the motivation of the officials involved would be.  Finally we put together a case for why the goods should be released structured to get the key points across as straight forwardly as possible but with enough detail to address the concerns that had led to the situation in the first place.

It took a few more emails, but the goods were cleared.  My new customers got paid.  I got paid.  And they indicated that they'd be back next time a similar situation arose.  A very satisfactory outcome.

The other company, let's call them company B, announced to me that they had the same problem via a threatening email saying that they had run into a problem in the States with my product and that they would be taking action to recover their losses from me.  I was on the phone to them quicker than you can say 'good job I have fully paid up professional liability cover' to point out that they had no case against me.  But I also told them that I'd just solved a similar problem and offered to help.

As I'd already done the hard graft of researching the matter I thought it would be an easy gig.  But it turned out that Company B had a very different approach.  Emails were flying all over the place. Their shipping agent was very vocal about it not being their fault.  The shortcomings of the officials that they had to deal with were discussed in some detail.  The size of my bill was queried.  Most remarkably of all the option of voluntarily pulling the stock back in order to not lose face by having it rejected was debated.  Ultimately, the stuff came back to the UK.  I have a feeling that my invoice won't be paid until I get my lawyers on the case - which given how the job came in has a certain pleasing symmetry.

So there it was laid out for me.  I've often thought that the most important factor in regulatory compliance is the attitude of the parties and I now have a perfect example of how two different organisations cope very differently with the same situation and which one works.

What has this got to do with Brexit?  Let's look at what Company B did.

They were confrontational from the start.  This was certainly reflected in what I charged them for my services.  I don't think it helped their relationship with their shipping agent either.  They were far more concerned about being in the right than in making a profit.  Despite this they were obsessed about the money they were paying out.  They obviously expected me to work for free and were shocked when my invoice arrived.   When goods are held up at a port there is a charge for their storage - they were very bothered by this.  They also kept bringing up the amount of money they had already spent purchasing and shipping the stock.

And they were playing the Blame Game at Olympic medal level.  That the guys in the US whose job it is to ensure the rules are being followed were doing it in a high handed and ignorant way was simply taken for granted.  That the regulations themselves were unreasonable was also an axiom. They were simply pen pushers. No further explanation was necessary.

This all sounds very familiar.  If you talk to Brexiters they are bothered by the costs of membership.  They are sure that the EU is difficult and inflexible.  And the ones on Twitter at any rate love finding articles that prove that the EU is a terrible thing that we should have nothing to do with. They don’t think about the advantages in either the short or long term. They are also interested in finding fault with specific individuals.  There is even a set of amusing mocking names for leading EU politicians and officials.

The interesting thing is if you look at it from Company B's point of view, everything makes sense and none of it is their fault.  They sent the stuff over in good faith.  It was the notorious bad attitude of the pen pushers that tripped them up.   By getting the stock back quickly they had successfully minimised their losses - showing that they could respond quickly to an unexpected and undeserved setback.  They'd even used their toughness to bully a consultant into helping them.  It wasn't their fault he turned out to be useless, but he can whistle for his money!  Meanwhile Company A will no doubt be looking for their next project just as soon as they've finished counting their profits from this one,

Likewise I can't see any outcome from leaving the EU that the Brexiters will quite genuinely regard as all the fault of the EU.  Just as Company B isn't seeing how much better Company A has managed exactly the same situation, they'll be ignoring how much better business is going just over the channel.  If they are confronted with it they'll no doubt assume that it is some skulduggery that allows the Europeans to put one over on the plucky Brits rather than the inevitable consequence of their own attitude.

It is a perfectly self contained world view. But it is one where you are losing without even realising it.