Passporting to Pimlico: cross-border trade in financial services after Brexit

In the 1949 classic Ealing comedy, “Passport to Pimlico”, the people of Pimlico decide to secede from the UK. The exit negotiations between the Pimlicans and the British government quickly turn sour, and the fragile economic and regulatory structures that underpin cross-border trade begin to break down. Electricity and water supplies into Pimlico are cut off, while London underground trains passing through Pimlico are subjected to onerous customs checks and immigration controls. Set against a hostile and economically dominant negotiating partner, the Pimlicans are quickly brought to the brink of destitution and ultimately decide to remain within the UK.