Panel of 100 academics fear 50/50 chance of Euro deal

Britain has just a 50 per cent chance of agreeing a trade and customs deal with the European Union, according to a panel of more than 100 leading Brexit experts.

The UK in a Changing Europe think tank’s new Brexit Pol icy Panel ( BPP) include world-renowned a ca demic s a cros s politics, economics, law and public policy.

And the results of their first monthly survey will make grim reading for those worried about the repercuss ions of a no- deal Brexit. The panel believe there is now a 50-50 likelihood of that economically damaging scenario unfolding in March.

Many passionate Remainers still cling to the hope a second EU referendum could allow the UK to dump Brexit altogether.

But only nine per cent of BPP members rated the chances of this at seven out of 10 or higher, with 57 per cent putting the likelihood of a poll re-run at three out of 10 or lower.

UK in a Changing Europe counts Scottish pollster and Strathclyde University professor Sir John Curtice as a founding partner and is based at King’s College London. n.

One of the BPP panel’s most t concerning f indings for UK Government ministers will be how widely its expectations diverge e from what they hope to achieve.

Only one in five BPP panel members believed Prime Minister Theresa May’s beleaguered Chequers proposals would form the basis of the UK’s future relationship with the EU.

Just 21 per cent felt a Facilitated d Customs Partnership was the most t likely final shape of a customs deal. . That would involve the UK setting its own tarif fs on imports and then