BREXIT News update 1st August 2017

by David Baber, Managing Director.

From now on until Britain has left the EU, CPA are going to post regular blogs for the comments we have seen in the press and elsewhere about Brexit, which is perhaps the most momentous event that will happen to the UK for a very long time and will have long-term implications for every citizen living in this country for good or ill. We aim to be balanced in our reports which will be divided into three categories;

  • Category 1 – Positive comments on Brexit
  • Category 2 – Negative comments on Brexit
  • Category 3 – Neutral comments on Brexit

Or see all posts referencing Brexit

Please find below our latest Brexit blog which has been compiled today on 1st August 2017:-

BREXIT; NEGATIVE COMMENT:  In an article by John Walsh, Deputy Ireland Editor and others in The Times of 28th July, it was stated that there is a new setback in Brexit negotiations after the government in Dublin said that Theresa May’s proposal for the Irish border is not workable.  The article said “Leo Varadkar, the Republic of Ireland’s prime minister, is pushing for the Irish Sea to become the post-Brexit border with the UK after warning Mrs. May that her plan was doomed and would jeopardise the peace process.”

And then in a long article it mentioned that “David Davis, the Brexit secretary, told MPs last year that he “did not see [a sea border] would be the solution” and that Ian Paisley Jr, the DUP MP, said that “the only people discussing a sea border are people who should know better”.

Also that Boris Johnson has likened concerns about Brexit to those surrounding the millennium bug. “The whole thing about the customs union and the technical difficulties is all being turned by great superstition into the equivalent of the millennium bug,” the foreign secretary told the Lowy Institute in Sydney.

BREXIT; NEGATIVE COMMENT:  In an article in The Daily Mail by Mario Ledwith, Brussels Correspondent of 28th July headed “EU’s trade threat over divorce bill”; he reported that Brussels yesterday threatened to delay critical Brexit talks unless the UK proves it is willing to pay a controversial divorce bill.  He went onto say that “British officials involved in the discussions have reluctantly accepted the EU’s demand to provide the initial guarantees on the multi-billion payment before a future relationship can be mapped out. But if an agreement is not reached until October it means there will be a delay until – at least – the next European Council summit in December.”  

BREXIT; POSITIVE COMMENT:  In an article by Rachel Millard and Victoria Ibitoye in The Daily Mail of 28th July, it was reported that the chief executive of drinks giant Diageo has predicted the industry would thrive regardless of whether the UK secured a trade deal after Brexit. He stated that “This is not a big issue or a relevant issue for us. On Brexit, we take it in our stride. Our business will trade tariff-free in the EU because it’s covered by WTO rules. We see opportunities if the UK can get some good free trade agreements, like with India.”

BREXIT; NEUTRAL COMMENT:  In The Morning Account on 31st July, under the heading “Hammond insists UK won’t undercut Europe”, it was reported that Philip Hammond has set out further policy ideas on Brexit by stating that he does not want to turn the UK into a deregulated, Singapore-style economy. The Chancellor told France’s Le Monde: “I often hear it said that Britain is considering participating in unfair competition in regulation and tax. That is neither our plan nor our vision for the future. The amount of tax we raise as a percentage of our GDP puts us right in the middle of the pack.” He argued that after Brexit the country would keep a “social, economic and cultural model that is recognisably European”. The Times notes that in January, Hammond said the UK could change its economic model to regain competitiveness if Britain didn’t secure a good Brexit deal. His latest comments come amid rising tensions within the Cabinet over Brexit policy. The Times, Page: 1, 8   The Guardian, Page: 1