Leaked memo reveals London’s lack of plans for Brexit

The government of British Prime Minister Theresa May is overwhelmed by the amount of work that is needed to withdraw the UK from the European Union (EU), a leaked document has revealed, showing that London has no plan for Brexit.

According to a leaked memo from the Cabinet Office, various departments were working on over 500 Brexit-related projects and needed to expand their workforce by 30,000 to complete them, The Times reported Tuesday.

Titled “Brexit Update” and dated November 7, the note slams May’s willingness to “draw in decisions and settle matters herself,” a strategy that was not going to sustain and indicated a split between the ministers in charge of ending the decades-old EU membership.

The division has put Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Trade Minister Liam Fox and Brexit Minister David Davis on one side and finance minister Philip Hammond and Business Secretary Greg Clark on the other, the document said.

The unnamed consultant who wrote the memo, stated that each department had come up with a “bottom-up” of the Brexit’s possible impacts.

“Although necessary, this falls considerably short of having a 'government plan for Brexit' because it has no prioritisation and no link to the overall negotiation strategy,” the author warned.

The note also predicted that “major players” in the various industry were going to “point a gun at government's head” to get London’s assurance for a harmless Brexit.

This is expected as Japanese car manufacturer Nissan said a few days back that it had been given “support and assurances” by the government over trading conditions once the UK exits EU.

Government denies

In response to the leak, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the memo did not belong to the government and he had "no idea" where it came from.

On June 23, nearly 52 percent of Britons voted to leave the European Union, after 43 years of membership, a decision that sent shockwaves throughout the world.

Last month, the UK High Court ruled that the matter should be approved in the Parliament, further delaying May’s plans to begin the process by March 2017 and finish it in two years.

Labour weighs in

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell was scheduled for a speech later in the day, where he would blast the government’s “shambolic” approach to Brexit and prepare the country’s economy for the consequences.

He would also make it clear that despite its fierce criticisms, the Labour Party was not going delay the process, saying, “To do so would put Labour against the majority will of the British people and on the side of certain corporate elites, who have always had the British people at the back of the queue.”

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