- Plans for a British internal market, post-Brexit, are causing a lot of constitutional friction, and there's not much time to resolve disputes about the way it's being set up.
- Much is being made of the 'power grab' or 'power surge' of which powers go where after leaving Europe's single market, but the way the market works could be as important.
- Any internal market requires a way of resolving disputes. The plans lack any, which suggests it'll be for Westminster to decide.
Boris Johnson made his name as a journalist in Brussels attacking, ridiculing, exaggerating and fabricating stories about the European Commission's efforts to create a single market.
With more than a hint of karma, he's now in a rush to construct one in Britain, giving one month of consultation ahead of legislation. The Europeans have been piecing theirs together for more than 30 years.
Why the rush? The need for replacements for Europe's internal market rules was clear as soon as the Brexit result came in, more than four years ago.
Business needs clarity if it is to operate across boundaries within the UK, and it would like minimum divergence. This applies to people as well, and their ability to take their qualifications with them to get jobs in other parts of the UK.
Perhaps a single UK market was being taken for granted. Whitehall's white paper waxes lyrical about it built up over centuries, painting word pictures of Welsh hill farmers walking their sheep to English markets. Yet 47 years inside Europe have set ever more complex and multi-layered rules, and outside Europe, the absence of those rules leaves a large hole.
So with an end to transition in less than six months, it's time to catch up. Quickly.
Different viewpoints
One element that has changed a lot since joining Europe in 1973 is the divergence of devolved powers across the UK. Whitehall would need only light touch rules if everything in the kingdom were united, happy, glorious and harmonious.
But it's not. And this issue exposes the asymmetry of dominant England, without its own government, and smaller partners which have those government powers, and a different political dynamic. Scotland is the most unsettled partner, but there are clearly tensions elsewhere.
Northern Ireland is a special case. With trade into the republic and Europe guaranteed, it's also supposed to be in the UK single market. How does that work? The white paper doesn't say. That's a puzzle that defeated Theresa May, and it's yet to be solved.