BuzzFeed are reporting (HERE) the government will shortly begin publishing notices on 84 areas of British life, advising people what they should be preparing for in the event of a no deal exit. This is the preferred option, or at the very least an acceptable one, for many hard line Brexiteers so they can hardly complain about the notices. However, the report says, "officials are worried that some of the detail in certain reports will come as a shock to the public". You can bet they will.
The Daily Express, never the most reliable newspaper, thinks these notices will start to be released today (HERE). If so, we may learn something although if they're anything like the earlier position papers they will be picked apart within a day or two.
The government will have to dance very carefully between giving people and companies practical advice, making our no deal threats seem credible to the EU and all without sending the country into hysteria and draining the shops of tinned food. Rather than keep calm and carry on, it will be - Don't Panic!!
You can tell how tricky it will be by this Telegraph report HERE. Jeremy Hunt is already being attacked by Brexiteers for suggesting we would regret a messy no-deal divorce for a generation and that would be a mistake. I think Brexiteers will read the notices through gritted teeth.
The full list of areas covered is as follows:
- Air services
- Animal breeding
- Aviation safety
- Aviation security
- Batch testing of medicine
- Blood safety
- Broadcasting
- Chemicals regulation
- Civil judicial cooperation
- Civil nuclear
- Climate
- Commercial road haulage
- Common Travel Area
- Company law
- Competition
- Consumer protection
- Cross-border gas trading
- Customs and borders
- Data
- Driver licensing
- Drugs
- e-Commerce and geo-blocking
- Electricity trading
- Environmental standards
- Equine movements
- Erasmus
- EU citizens in the UK
- EU programmes and structural funds
- EU space programmes
- European regional development fund
- European social fund
- Export control regulation
- Fertilisers
- Financial services
- Firearms
- Fisheries, fish and seafood
- Fluorinated gases and Ozone depleting substances
- Food labelling
- Genetically modified organisms
- Geographical indicators
- Health and identification marks for products of animal origin
- Horizon 2020
- Imports of food and feed
- Insolvency
- Intellectual property
- Life sciences
- Live animals and animal products
- Maritime security
- Motor insurance
- New car and van CO2 emissions
- NGOs
- Nuclear research
- Objects of cultural interest
- Oil and gas
- Organic food production
- Organs, tissue, and cells
- Passports
- Payments to farmers
- Pesticides regulations
- Pet travel
- Plants and seeds
- Procurement
- Product regulation
- Registration of veterinary medicines
- Renewable electricity issues
- Rural Development Programme for England
- Seafarer certification
- Services
- State aid
- Telecoms
- Timber trade
- Tobacco
- Trade agreements continuity
- Trade in endangered species
- Trade remedies
- Trans-European energy infrastructure
- UK citizens in the EU
- UK LIFE projects
- UK trade tariff
- Upholding industrial emissions
- VAT
- Vehicle standards
- Veterinary medicine products
- Workplace rights
Not to be impacted by at least one of these areas you will need to live in a crofter's cottage in Caithness eating your own crops, without electricity or any modern conveniences whatsoever.
