The Ghost of Margaret Thatcher
The ghost of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is stalking Brexit talks. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire invoked Thatcher’s famously bellicose approach to Europe last night, as he insisted Britain will have to pay a divorce settlement, which he put at €100 billion ($115 billion). “As Thatcher famously said ‘we want our money back.’” The bill is expected to remain a stumbling block for months, and talks can’t move on to trade and the future relationship until positions on how much Britain owes have converged. Little progress appears to have been made as the second round of talks draws to a close in Brussels today, and the size of the bill will probably feature prominently when EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier — and possibly Brexit Secretary David Davis — give a press conference this afternoon. Thatcher’s legacy has also thrown up another obstacle in the talks, according to the Financial Times , which reports today that the rebate she secured on the U.K.’s