Open Britain: Walking away without a deal should not be something the Government entertains

06 April 2017

The Open Britain campaign has published a new pamphlet on post-Brexit trade policy – New Partnership, New Challenges – with contributions from six experts in the field and a foreword by Nicky Morgan MP in which she warns of the dangers of the UK leaving the EU with no deal.

In her foreword, the former Conservative Cabinet Minister writes that “this most extreme form of Brexit is being talked about with increasing fervour by those who favour a fundamental rupture with Europe” but that this “should not be something the Government entertains.”

Each chapter in the pamphlet deals with a different aspect of Brexit’s impact on trade policy, from the WTO option to the difficulties the Government will face in securing a Free Trade Agreement: 

• Peter Kellner, the former President of YouGov, on how polling suggests that public opinion is not prepared for, and does not expect or want, a Brexit that would damage the economy and make people worse off.
• Vicky Pryce, the former head of the Government Economic Service, on how even a comprehensive free trade agreement, which is what the Government is aiming for, would be worse for our economy than membership of the Single Market.
• Timothy Lyons QC, an expert on EU customs law, on how the Government’s decision to substantially leave the Customs Union will create more challenges for businesses, UK customs authorities, and the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
• Sam Lowe, a campaigner on EU trade issues, on how negotiating new trade deals with third countries will be difficult and time-consuming, and will not make up for the predicted loss of trade between the UK and the EU.
• L Alan Winters, Professor of Economics and the University of Sussex, on how leaving the Single Market and falling onto trade on World Trade Organisation rules will substantially reduce British access to the EU market, both for goods and services.
• George Peretz QC, a barrister and expert on EU law, on how leaving the Single Market will be unlikely to give the UK Government the power to radically change state aid rules. 4

Full pamphlet

© Open Britain