Hello and welcome to Coffeyer Shots. I'm Michael Simmons and today I'm joined by James Heel.

Now, this morning, our editor played host to a speech by Nick Thomas Simmons, the paymaster general of the United Kingdom.

James, what was all that about?

Well, really, Nick Thomas Simmons is the most important person in this government in terms of dealing with the European Union.

He is the Minister for EU Relations, a brief that you might have expected to be in the foreign office,

but has been handed to the Cabinet office, which I think is a sign of Nick Thomas Simmons' role,

which is being entrusted with very important jobs that maybe not get the prominence or public profile

that you might think they ought to deserve but don't actually do so in political reality.

And what Nick Thomas Simmons was trying to do today was set out the next steps in the government's agenda for an EU reset

and trying to paint the opponents of that reset as people who are anti-business.

So what we saw today was his attempt to kind of

almost depoliticise working closer with Europe on different issues such as energy policy, defence,

Boulder crossings as well, and talk about how they're going to have the SPS arrangements going

forward and really trying to have a year of negotiations ahead of bringing something to Parliament

for the end of 2027.

And as well as doing that, of course, as well as presenting his policy as being straightforward, it was suggesting that people like Kevin Badock and most important, Nigel Farage, who were against the EU reset, were not, in fact, on the side of business, and they weren't simply serious about the UK economy. So it's the classic thing which Whitehall loves to do, which is present their policies as reasonable, fair-minded, pro-enterprice,

and opponents of that is obviously sort of boss-eyed maniac's intent on ripping up the pound.

And here's a clip. Kiyah Stama said some years ago that we faced a choice.

Shouting slogans or changing lives. We choose changing lives. Securing borders,

bringing down bills, protecting jobs. Borders, bills, jobs. That is the kind of strategic

partnership we need. This is making a Brexit that works for Britain, restoring the freedoms we once had, charting

a brighter course for the future.

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