Britain’s foremost business lobby group and trade union body have joined forces to demand Theresa May urgently changes her approach to Brexit, warning the country now faces a national emergency.
Writing a joint letter to the prime minister, the heads of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Trades Union Congress (TUC) said a plan B needed to be drawn up as quickly as possible to avoid a no-deal departure as early as next week.
Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, and Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI’s director-general, wrote in the letter published before the crunch EU summit in Brussels: “Our country is facing a national emergency. Decisions of recent days have caused the risk of no deal to soar. Firms and communities across the UK are not ready for this outcome. The shock to our economy would be felt by generations to come.”
Representing millions of workers and tens of thousands of businesses between them, the employers’ group and trades union umbrella body told May to take three urgent steps, starting with a commitment to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
They said securing an extension beyond 29 March had become essential with only days to go, although they warned that it also needed to be “long enough for a deal to be agreed”.
In a final demand, the TUC and CBI said that a plan B for Brexit was urgently required, including allowing MPs to hold indicative votes on the best ways to reach a consensus way forward, or another mechanism for compromise. “A plan B must be found – one that protects workers, the economy and an open Irish border, commands a parliamentary majority and is negotiable with the EU. A new approach is needed to secure this,” Fairbairn and O’Grady said.
The warning came as the pound plunged against the dollar on the foreign exchange markets, heading for the biggest one-day fall of the year after fears about a no-deal Brexit increased. Sterling dropped by about 2 cents against the dollar to $1.3011, extending falls over recent days from a nine-month high of $1.34 last week. The pound also weakened by about 0.6% against the euro to €1.15.
John McDonnell, the Labour shadow chancellor, said the prime minister could not ignore the demands of the TUC and the CBI and called on her to change tack immediately.
“There can be no false choice between May’s bad deal and a catastrophic no-deal situation. The prime minister must move her red lines and act in the national interest in finding a compromise now. She cannot continue on this failed path,” he said.
The warnings came as businesses across the country scrambled to make preparations for a no-deal departure.
The Bank of England on Thursday said that as many as 80% of firms it surveyed reported they were ready for a no-deal, no-transition Brexit, up from 50% in January, which could help limit the shock to the economy. However, many firms are unclear about what exactly they should plan for, which the Bank said would limit their readiness. Threadneedle Street said growing numbers of firms had put their business investment plans on hold as a consequence, serving as a brake on economic growth.
