UK braces for ‘no-deal’ Brexit fallout
london — The British government said on Tuesday it would implement plans for a no-deal Brexit in full and begin telling businesses and citizens to prepare for the risk of leaving the European Union without an agreement.
Those plans include setting aside space on ferries to ensure a regular flow of medical supplies and keeping 3,500 armed forces personnel
ready to support the government with its contingency plans.
With just over 100 days until Britain is due to leave the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May is yet to win the support of a deeply divided parliament for the deal she struck last month with Brussels to maintain close ties with the bloc.
She has said a delayed vote on her deal will take place in mid-January,
prompting some lawmakers to accuse her of trying to force parliament into backing her by running down the clock as the March 29 exit day approaches. No deal means there would be no transition so the exit would be abrupt, the nightmare scenario for international businesses. —
london — Britain’s Cabinet agreed on Tuesday to ramp up preparations for the UK’s departure from the European Union without a deal, after Prime Minister Theresa May postponed Parliament’s vote on her divorce agreement until mid-January.
UK’s departure from the bloc is just over 100 days away and it remains unclear whether the country will leave with a deal or crash out without one — an outcome that risks plunging the economy into recession. With uncertainty lurking, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said preparations for a disorderly exit must become much more of a priority for businesses around the country.
“The government’s priority remains to secure a deal, but we need to recognise with 14 weeks to go, that a responsible government is preparing for the eventuality that we leave without a deal,” he said.
Businesses will be provided with a 100-plus page online pack to help them prepare. E-mails to 80,000 of those most likely to be affected will be sent over the next few days.
Some manufacturers have begun
stockpiling parts and goods in anticipation of post-Brexit hiccups to trade. But many businesses — especially smaller firms — have done little to mitigate the economic shock of leaving without a deal.
And big firms and business organisations have warned that uncertainty is already sapping investment and causing needless expense.
The British Chambers of Commerce said on Tuesday that economic growth and business investment in 2019 were likely to be lower than
previously forecast because of the continuing uncertainty.
Director-General Adam Marshall said “the lack of certainty over the UK’s future relationship with the EU has led to many firms hitting the pause button on their growth plans.”
“With just over 100 days to go until the UK leaves the EU and no clear road ahead, businesses are having to take action, delaying or pulling hiring and investment plans and, in some cases, moving operations elsewhere in order to maintain hard-won supply chains,” he said.
The British government and the EU sealed a divorce deal last month, but May postponed a parliamentary vote on it last week when it became clear legislators would overwhelmingly reject it.
She tried to win changes from the EU to sweeten the deal for reluctant lawmakers, but was rebuffed by the bloc at a summit in Brussels last week. May’s authority has also been shaken after a no-confidence vote from her own party that saw more than a third of Conservative lawmakers
PM has cynically run down the clock, trying to manoeuvre parliament into a choice between two unacceptable outcomes
Jeremy Corbyn, Opposition leader
vote against her. May insisted she could win “clarification” from the EU to reassure skeptical lawmakers before Parliament votes on the deal during the week of January 14.
Opposition legislators — and many members of May’s Conservative Party — remain opposed to the deal. But with Parliament divided on the way forward, the Brexit process is at an impasse.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, on Monday submitted a motion of noconfidence in the prime minister, accusing May of deliberately wasting time by delaying the vote, forcing Parliament to choose between her deal and no deal. —