Jason Moore30/09/2016 00:00
TW
2

Ken Clarke is a British politician who I admire. I still remember when he gave his budget speech when he was Chancellor sipping from a glass of whisky. Clarke is pro-European Union, one of the few in the Tory Party, and he has always stayed loyal to his principals. This week he gave his verdict on the Brexit debacle saying that the British government didn't have a clue what to do next. And I don't think he is wrong.

The problem is that no one thought that Britain would vote to leave and so there was no "Plan B". The longer the British government delays negotiations with the European Union the more political and economic uncertainty there is going to be. But unfortunately, the British government is in a very difficult situation. Leaving the single market would cause major economic woes for British companies so it is not really an option. Britain needs to stay in the single market but the EU will demand Britain continues to have "open borders", which is never going to happen. So the government are in a real Catch 22 situation. The only option would be to abandon the EU completely and the single market, which would cause major hardship. It will mean that hundreds if not thousands of British companies will move to the continent. So you can see why Theresa May is in no hurry to start negotiations. She is hoping for a miracle because that is what she needs.