Brexhaustion

As Theresa May returned to Europe this week to convince EU leaders to amend the withdrawal agreement, the EU and Civil Service separately announced that no-deal preparations were being stepped up. With the Chancellor set to release millions of pounds to government departments most likely to be affected by a no-deal exit, European politicians insisting that the Northern Irish backstop cannot be removed from the withdrawal agreement, and the UK parliament locked in a paralysis with no obvious majority for any outcome, the possibility of no-deal increases by the day.

So for those sitting on the fence, fingers crossed, hoping for a resolution that brings some certainty, now might be the time to start planning. We know, you’re Brexhausted by the whole thing (sorry!), Christmas is upon us and you’ve got a thousand things to do before you lock up the office for the festive season, but taking a few simple steps now will help you start 2019 well placed for the drama that might unfold in the spring, and save any last-minute Brexit-induced panic that might otherwise ensue.

Some of you will be well ahead in your Brexit preparations, but for many organisations, planning hasn’t begun because people don’t understand what it is they’re planning for. For now, the answer might be to plan for a no deal – if both the EU27 and the UK government are willing to spend money on it, a sensible approach is to take the threat seriously. We’d start by setting up a Brexit steering group to consider the issues a no deal Brexit will raise, identify risks, plan how and where resources might be directed and co-ordinate your organisation’s response. We’ll be considering this further in later posts.

For anyone unsure of how to prepare, registration is still open for our FREE Preparing your business for Brexit seminar in January.