Coronavirus and Brexit trade negotiations together are too much for the government to handle

Editorial: A delay in EU talks until the emergency is over would likely strengthen the UK’s negotiating position

Trade talks with the EU have been complicated by the coronavirus pandemic (AFP/Getty)

When the Moody’s credit agency downgraded Britain’s credit rating just before the weekend, one factor it pointed to was “the weakening in the UK’s institutions and governance”. 

“While still high, the quality of the UK’s legislative and executive institutions has diminished in recent years,” the agency said.

In other words, and with deep irony for a government that fancies it is taking back control of an “independent” state, Britain can’t actually run its own affairs, or at least not as competently as it ought.