Expert perfectly demonstrates Brexiteer hypocrisy over trade talks in just 90 seconds

Polly MacKenzie, chief executive of thinktank Demos, explained that the government had done a ‘good thing’ by signing a free-trade agreement with Japan.

But MacKenzie, who previously helped write the 2010 Coalition Agreement between the Tories and Lib Dems, told BBC Politics Live that the event also demonstrated their double standards on talks with the EU.

She explained: ‘What’s intriguing is in these international agreements it is really normal for both parties to put restrictions on the other country, so that they know that country won’t pull a fast one, and start dumping things or subsidising their own industries.

‘So when it comes to things like state aid and food standards, you show your cards and you tell the other party in that agreement how you’re going to manage those things.’

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Pointing out the hypocrisy of the UK government, she continued: ‘And when it’s Japan, it seems OK for us to say ‘this is what we’ll do on state aid, happy to sign up for that. This is what we’ll do on food, let’s sign up for that’.

‘As soon as it’s the European Union, those reasonable negotiated agreements between countries turn out to be ‘an assault on our democracy’ and ‘how dare they ask us to know how we’re going to manage food standards’.

‘You have to remember the UK was the country that managed to generate BSE by having bad food standards.

‘It’s not surprising that any country – EU, Japan or any country we negotiate with – will ask what our food standards will be and not want food to come into their country or bloc unless they know what they are.’

The expert continued to explain: ‘I think we should be more comfortable in setting out things like our state aid, or our food standards, and just accept that is the normal part of international treaties and once you’ve signed them they have to be binding.’

Viewers were impressed with her analysis of the government’s bill, and why the Brexiteer outrage was misplaced.

‘Brilliant assessment of UK-EU trade negotiations,’ said Adam Schwarz.

Robert Reed tweeted: ‘Finally someone talking sense on the Internal Market Bill. The MPs are all so scared and destroyed by Brexit they can’t even articulate a rational position’.