Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - Curiously, for the Conservatives, the one issue they don’t want to talk about is the result of the EU referendum. Not because the result doesn’t suit them – and to be fair most Tory MSPs campaigned to remain in the EU – but because after several months we are no clearer what the UK’s negotiating position is going to be.
So their MSPs’ contributions to a debate on Brexit are dominated by references to an unplanned future independence referendum – 15 such on 20th September alone.
But light has to be shone into the dark corners on UK government policy planning for Brexit.
When all these years ago I participated in business negotiations we used a method devised by the leaders in the training of people like me. They happened to be a Scottish firm called Scotwork.
It was based on two simple constructs. The first was that nothing was agreed until everything was agreed. That meant that one always said; “If you will agree to my (list of requirements), then I will agree to your list.”
The second, and the more important, was the construction of a list of outcomes being sought. It was called the LIMit list. But it was really three lists.
The “L” list was a long list of things which our side would “Like” to achieve. Things of value to our position but of little cost to our opponents.
The “I” list was what we “Intend” to get from the negotiation. We would need to get a decent proportion of this list if we wanted to claim victory.
The most critical list, the “M” list is the things we “Must” achieve. Without these we walk away from any deal.
The negotiation has to start by our revealing an initial list of “asks” which would contain all of our “Musts” and most of our “Intends”.
Our opponents would counter by rejecting items from our list and making their own demands. Our response would continue to demand all our “Musts” but substitute some of our “Likes” for a smaller number of our “Intends”.
In big business negotiations this could go on for a very long time. And some of the planned demands cannot be disclosed at the outset.
But no negotiation can proceed without the side starting the whole discussion laying out a list of demands.
I can lay out some of my “Musts” - for example getting our fish catching industry out of the EU Common Fisheries Policy and keeping the free movement of people so vital to fish processing – but it is the UK Government who got us here and it is time for us to see their initial list.
In 500 or so words I can describe a process and suggest some outcomes.
It’s surely time we heard some words from the UK Government.
Perhaps they should start by having words with that Scottish firm. http://www.scotwork.com.
