He impact on UK rail
published a document on Brexit, considering how a withdrawal process might work and what the possible models for an ongoing European relationship might look like.
“It is not clear what withdrawal from the EU will actually mean in practice for business,” he says. “What is clear is that the uncertainty as to what a post-Brexit world will look like means that assessment of risk and forward planning for businesses is very challenging.
“Worryingly, it appears that voters will not be given a full picture of the implications for the UK outside the EU when they go to the polls in June. The UK public could vote to leave the EU without truly understanding the long-term implications of that decision on the economic and political landscape of the UK.”
Helm highlights another area of uncertainty that would affect many industries, including rail specifically, if the nation votes to leave the EU.
“If we leave, then the directives all fall away. There will be a host of areas where there will need to be UK laws to replace those that have dropped away.
“This is no minor issue. After June 24, Parliament will have to start a marathon legislative programme. It will need to reconstruct agricultural policy, fisheries policies, telecoms policies, state aids policies, renewables policy, and almost all environmental policy. It will need new financial legislation. None of these are easy or straightforward, again in part because few on the leave side agree what should be put in their place.”
Of course, there is always a possibility that the final result will not be dissimilar from the polls of late, and that it could be what Helm refers to as a “close call”, providing no ‘winner’ to take the relationship with Europe forward.
It would be impossible, without writing a book on the subject, to cover every aspect of the rail industry’s interaction with the EU. But our contributors here investigate how the EU affects UK rail and what Brexit could mean for the rail industry specifically, and provide a snapshot of views from Editorial Board members and others on the key issues surrounding the vote.
The decision we make as a nation on June 23 is one that could fundamentally change the landscape for the rail industry. Whatever the outcome, political fallout could have farreaching consequences.
It is not clear what withdrawal from the EU will actually mean in practice for business. What is clear is that the uncertainty as to what a post-Brexit world will look like means that assessment of risk and forward planning for businesses is very challenging.
Rob Aird, Partner at law firm Ashurst