-The only certainty in the UK is uncertainty
The U.K. is heading full steam ahead towards uncertainty as the first hint of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Plan B promises not to offer much more than Plan A, which was defeated by parliament with a historical margin.
The leaders of Britain’s two largest trade unions on Thursday called on May to delay Brexit to prevent a no-deal exit from the EU. In separate meetings with May, Len McCluskey of the trade union, Unite, and Dave Prentis of Unison discussed the severity of leaving the EU without a deal and the need for an extension of Article 50, the section of the EU treaty under which the U.K. is leaving.
“I have also made it clear that, in my opinion, if she is serious about negotiating and seeing if there’s a deal that has support in parliament, then there has to be an extension of Article 50,” McCluskey said after the meeting.
“I can’t conceive any British prime minister taking us out of Europe with a no deal. It would be catastrophic. She’s been told that from all parts,” he added.
Moreover, the Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney said on Thursday that many British businesses still face problems that have yet to be solved if Britain leaves the European Union without an agreement to smooth its transition.
“There are a series of logistical issues that need to be solved, and it’s quite transparent that in many cases they’re not,” Carney said at a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Goldman Sachs’ new Chief Executive, David Solomon has also admitted that Brexit could affect its investment plans in the U.K. Solomon said that while the number of employees in the U.K. remains stagnant, the company has increased its headcount in the EU, at a time when Brexit could affect decisions regarding its people and resources.
“If this (Brexit) is resolved in a difficult way, or in a hard way, I do think it'll have an impact on where we invest in and where we put people,” Solomon told the BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
After May suffered a historic defeat in parliament with her Brexit deal, she is set to present her Plan B on Monday, Jan. 29 before MPs vote again. The U.K. is set to leave the EU on March 29.