No consensus on Brexit
If nothing else is agreed, Britain will exit with no deal, which could bring chaos to markets
BRITAIN’S parliament voted last night whether to leave the EU in 16 days without an agreement – after Prime Minister Theresa May was handed a second humiliating defeat for her Brexit plan on Tuesday.
The government said it would eliminate import tariffs on a wide range of goods in a no-deal Brexit scenario.
The options are: there could be an extension to the March 29 divorce date; May could hold a snap election; she could try a third time to get her deal passed; or another referendum could be held on the issue.
Rejection for a no-deal Brexit would lead to a vote today on whether to ask the EU for a delay, something to which all the bloc’s other 27 members must agree.
A spokesperson for European Council president Donald Tusk, representing EU governments, said Britain would have to provide a “credible justification” for any request for a delay.
The default position if nothing else is agreed remains that Britain will exit with no deal, a scenario that business leaders warn would bring chaos to markets and supply chains, and other critics say could cause shortages of food and medicines.
Supporters of Brexit argue that, while a no-deal divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it would allow the UK to thrive and forge trade deals across the world.
Unveiling details of a tariff plan that would last for up to 12 months in the wake of a no-deal Brexit, the government said 87% of the UK’s imports by value would be eligible for tariff-free access, up from 80% now.
It also said it would not introduce new checks or controls on goods UK Parliament via AP ANA moving from the Irish Republic to Northern Ireland. May has said the government would not instruct lawmakers from her own Conservative Party, who were bitterly divided over Brexit, on how to vote, as would normally be the case.
“If you pushed me to the endpoint where it’s a choice between no deal and no Brexit, I think no deal is going to be very disruptive for the economy and has serious questions for the union,” Barclay said.
The EU said the risk of a damaging no-deal Brexit had “increased significantly” but there would be no more negotiations with London on the divorce terms, struck with May after two-and-a-half years of tortuous negotiations.
Britons voted 52-48% in 2016 to leave but this decision has not only divided the main parties, but has also exposed the very deep rifts in British society, raising serious concerns about immigration and globalisation to the fore. | Reuters African News Agency (ANA)