Unprepared…
A leaked document from the British government shows that Britain still has no plan for Brexit and a poor understanding of what an exit from the European Union will mean for industry in the UK.
Plans for Brexit may take six months to put in place due to a divide within Theresa May’s party.
The memo, dated November 7 and obtained by The Times, suggests that a split in the cabinet is hindering the Government’s ability to plan a negotiating strategy ahead of the commencement of their leaving process next April.
The memo is titled “Brexit Update”, and says that “major players” in industry are expected to “point a gun at the government’s head” following their promise to Nissan.
Last month, Nissan announced that two new car models would be produced in the north of England, securing roughly 7,000 jobs, after receiving “support and assurances” from the British government about the UK’s future outside the EU.
The memo also states that an estimated 30,000 civil service workers will be needed to cope with the staggering workload brought about by exiting the EU.
The memo was written by a consultant working for the Cabinet Office, according to The Times, and said:
“Every department has developed a ‘bottom-up’ plan of what the impact of Brexit could be – and its plan to cope with the ‘worst case’.
“Although necessary, this falls considerably short of having a ‘Government plan for Brexit’ because it has no prioritisation and no link to the overall negotiation strategy.”
The leaked document also suggests cabinet splits between Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Brexit Secretary David Davis and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox on one side, and Chancellor Philip Hammond and Business Secretary Greg Clark on the other.
It is also highly critical of Prime Minister Theresa May who it says is “acquiring a reputation of drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself” which is an approach which will be difficult to sustain.
But the validity of the document has been disputed by members of the British Government with Transport Secretary Chris Grayling saying on BBC Radio 4 that he had “no idea” where the document came from.
Mr Grayling said the document was not a government memo and rejected its contents stating that his own experience was very different to the one laid out in the memo.
