How can Jacob Rees-Mogg find ‘Brexit opportunities’? They don’t exist | Jonathan Freedland

It is increasingly clear that Brexit is doing enormous damage to Britain's economy. And what for, exactly?

Jacob Rees-Mogg reminds me of a kipper. A very specific kipper, resting on a plastic pillow of ice, which intruded into the public consciousness back in 2019, when Boris Johnson held it aloft, proclaiming it as an example of the absurd, pettifogging rules imposed by Brussels on the yeoman traders of Britain. Naturally, Johnson's claims fell apart on inspection. There was no European directive mandating a cushion of ice for the sleeping fish. On the contrary, the ice pillow was demanded by a British rule, drawn up by British officials. Nothing to do with the EU.

The episode came back to me when Rees-Mogg, newly appointed minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, appealed to readers of the Sun to write in and tell him of ANY petty old EU regulation that should be abolished". That's because Johnson's kipper illustrated not only his serial dishonesty on matters European - already well-documented - but also a gap in the Brexiters' arsenal. That gap was fairly well concealed in the 2016 referendum campaign, but Rees-Mogg's plea in the Sun, like Johnson's kipper, has exposed it.