What now for Brexit?

The UK General Election result and the disastrous result for Theresa May and the Conservative Party has seriously damaged May’s position on Brexit.   The ‘hard Brexit’ that was the Conservative Party’s position during the General Election seems extremely difficult to sustain now that there is a ‘hung Parliament’ and many commentators are suggesting a much softer Brexit which could include UK’s continued participation in the Single Market and the Customs Union.   It should be pointed out that Theresa May as Prime Minister has kept Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary and Davis Davis as Brexit Secretary so it will be interesting to see how they change their Brexit stance.   With negotiations on Brexit due to start a week tomorrow (19 June), the UK Government is poorly prepared for these negotiations. Particularly as they will be crucial to economic health of the UK and the future of hundreds of thousands of EU nationals working in the UK and UK nationals working in the EU.   The Conservative Party seem to be more divided about Brexit than ever but there does not seem to be a majority for a ”hard Brexit’ in Parliament.   The new Parliament is likely to want to scrutinise the UK Government’s position more thoroughly than the previous Parliament which almost waved through the start of the Article 50 procedure.

For companies like European Policy Solutions, the result of the General Election and talk of a softer Brexit is good news so that EPS can continue to work in the European Union without the problems that a ‘hard Brexit’ would create.   In many policy areas where EPS is active the inclusion of the United Kingdom in the Single Market and Customs Union is essential if European markets are going to be created in, for instance, hydrogen fuel cell products and electro-mobility.