Mixed messages

It seems clear that there will be a transition phase for Britain’s departure from the EU, assuming the EU agrees to one. In the Commons yesterday, Theresa May said the intention was to avoid a cliff-edge Brexit but not to have “an unlimited transition period”. The issue, however, is how long it will be, and on this the Cabinet seems divided.

Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is giving the impression that this might be a relatively lengthy process lasting four years or more. In a speech in Berlin, he indicated that it would include remaining in a customs union with the rest of the EU which means no new trade deals could be negotiated during that time. However, David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, said the Chancellor had made a number of points “that are not quite consistent with each other” and insisted that Britain would be able to strike trade deals as soon as it left the EU.

So which is it? Perhaps this is a deliberate attempt to bamboozle the EU’S negotiating team. Or it is another consequence of the Prime Minister’s diminished authority that has left her colleagues questioning whether there is a mandate for the “hard” Brexit the Chancellor is known to oppose.

But it is important that these divisions are kept within the Cabinet room. When they are aired publicly, businesses which have to plan for an already uncertain future are left even more confused. In Berlin, Mr Hammond derided the notion that Britain outside the EU could “have its cake and eat it”, seen as a put-down to Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary. It might be better if before our ministers talk about cake or anything else they agree to speak with one voice.