Tonight saw a highly informative Tacitus Debate which followed Sir Simon Fraser’s Tacitus Lecture, The World is our Oyster? The UK’s Future Global Trading Relationships.

Sir Simon updated his views in the light of the recent triggering of Article 50, and a fascinating debate ensued. Canada’s Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation, WTO, Jonathan Fried explained what falling back on WTO rules would actually mean. Iana Dreyer, who has set up an online trade commentary service, Borderlex, was encouraged by Chairman Lord Tim Clement-Jones to give us a Continental perspective, and Financial Times columnist Martin Sandbu gave his views based on the thousands of articles he distils into his daily column.

The audience, including sponsors, world traders, livery masters and diplomats responded with searching comments and questions, after which we enjoyed DLA Piper’s hospitality.

World Traders Master, Robert Woodthorpe Brown comments, “Tacitus involves a huge amount of work and the participation of so many of us. The Lecture is our Clerk’s huge task, but Zoe Buckingham, Jan Dawson, Nick Mayhew and Pauline Rafal deserve huge thanks, as does Tim Clement-Jones’s PA Simonne Davis for her heroic efforts for the Debate.”

Details of the Lecture can be found at the Tacitus Lecture 2016 page here.