"I think the point that was being made was that showing ones hand to the public also makes it available to the people you are negotiating with."

I understand all that, but it's not that simple. The uncertainty caused for businesses not knowing the negotiating position of the government (in PMQ's today MayBot said "yes we'll get a deal" whilst other ministers seem not to give a stuff about a deal) or the contents of govt commissioned reports is damaging; today Toyota are making their concerns heard for instance.

Big corporates are one thing and you might not give a shit about them, but when they ship the oars the effect is felt by the myriad of businesses that are contracted by such mega corporations, from large suppliers to self-employed contractors working on an hourly basis. This has real-world consequences for us and our families and so if the govt is sitting on information that will enable those of us who run business to make plans with our customers to cope, then we should at least get the chance to do that.

So much for "all in it together". We're right out of the feckin' loop down here where the actual work is done; not much control being taken back for those us struggling to navigate this clusterfuck.