NO BIG DEAL
The Brexit vote has left the UK in economic crisis with a leaderless government mired in chaos, confusion and division but arrogant Tory Fox thinks a few years of uncertainty will be...
A TORY minister has been blasted for dismissing the years of Brexit uncertainty to come as “not a huge deal”.
Liam Fox made the claim as he was quizzed about the lack of clarity over his party’s plans to leave the EU.
Amid uncertainty, the pound has plunged in value and banks are making plans to move jobs from London to other financial centres.
But the Secretary of State for International Trade told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “Having waited for over 40 years to leave the European Union .. it’s not a huge deal and neither is it an ideological one.” East Kilbride-born Fox hinted that a sticking plaster solution to relations with the EU could last as long as five years.
He said he hoped interim arrangements with the EU would not last beyond the next general election – in 2022.
Fox said: “I think we would want to get it out of the way before the election, I don’t think people would want to have it dragging on.”
Fox previously said he’d be happy if transitional measures last a few months.
The lack of clarity about the UK’s exit led to claims the Tories are in chaos.
Fife MP Stephen Gethins, the SNP’s Europe spokesman, said: “Chaos, confusion and division continues to reign at the heart of government.
“It is astonishing that after a year, Tory ministers are still discussing whether or not to have a transitional agreement, never mind all the other key issues that are still to be decided.
“Liam Fox bears particular culpability, given he was part of the Vote Leave campaign that wouldn’t even tell us what leaving the EU would mean.
“The lack of preparedness will impact on jobs, the economy, the environment and opportunities for young people.”
The need for a transitional arrangement has been backed by business leaders and by Labour.
But Lesley Laird, Labour’s shadow Scottish Secretary, said: “Tory ministers are still intent on pursuing a race to-the-bottom Brexit that risks our economy and presents a threat to jobs and investment.
“We would deliver a jobs-first Brexit as part of our plan to create a country that works for the many, not the few.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is under pressure from party rebels such as Chuka Umunna for his hard stance against continued membership of the EU single market.
Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said he had been in talks with members of the shadow cabinet and Conservative backbenchers and said Labour MPs were being “intimidated” and told to “toe the line or else”.
The Lib Dems’ Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: “Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to stand up for the single market is a betrayal of future generations who will suffer most from an extreme Brexit.
“He is parroting the lie used by leading Brexiteers that membership of the single market is the same as staying in the EU.”