U.K. Business Cries ‘Enough’ as Yet Another Brexit Deal Fails
U.K. businesses say “enough is enough” after another failed Brexit vote and call on the government to “stop this circus.”
(Bloomberg) -- Enough is Enough. A circus. Political negligence.
Frustration among U.K. businesses is reaching boiling point after Prime Minister Theresa May’s latest attempt to get Parliament to back her exit deal from the European Union failed again. The huge defeat means another vote on Wednesday on a no-deal Brexit and, if that’s rejected, a further one on Thursday on whether to extend the negotiations.
“Enough is enough. This must be the last day of failed politics,” said Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry. “It’s time for Parliament to stop this circus.”
Her statement came shortly after the British Chambers of Commerce issued its verdict on another night of tension and drama in Parliament. But for businesses, the drama marks just another escalation of the uncertainty that’s already led them to curb investment and damage economic growth.
“Businesses have been failed over and over again by Westminster,” said BCC head Adam Marshall. “Allowing a messy and disorderly exit on March 29th would take political negligence to new extremes.”
The tone was almost universal: a retailers’ lobby group said it’s “exasperated” by the political squabbling, and the automotive industry warned the country is now “perilously close” to a “catastrophic” scenario.
To contact the reporter on this story: Fergal O'Brien in Zurich at fobrien@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net, Alister Bull
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