A BLEAK BREXIT FUTURE FOR THE CAR INDUSTRY

The car industry is beginning to sound the alarm loud and clear. The industry's trade body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) warns the government is putting 860,000 jobs at risk and says "at a minimum" we need to stay in the customs union as well as securing a deal that includes all the single market benefits (HERE). This isn't the first time the SMMT has issued warnings and it remains to be seen if it has any more effect than previous ones. 

MIND ALTERING STUFF

In my earlier post about current polling showing little evidence of people changing their opinion on Brexit I thought about this report in The Guardian (HERE) following the warnings from Airbus. It concerns an employee of Airbus at the main site in Broughton where wings are manufactured. He is a David Lawless aged 34, so a man who has spent all his life under the EU.

AIRBUS

Big business is finally starting to speak out clearly on the insanity that is Brexit. Frustrated by the slow progress and lack of a clear plan, Airbus broke cover to warn of the consequences of a no deal exit (HERE). They talk about the "major risks to the aerospace sector" if we leave the SM and the CU without a transition period. And they complain the present 21 month transition is not long enough to reorganise their supply chains. But I assume some of the consequences they predict will happen after any transition period anyway - if we leave the single market and the customs union.

THE UK AVIATION SECTOR BEGINS TO PANIC

Yesterday (HERE) the UK aircraft industry trade bodies wrote to Michel Barnier asking him to allow talks to begin between the Civil Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Safety Agency which would enable aircraft parts made in the UK to be certified after Brexit. I don't think there is any doubt that the EU negotiator will ultimately agree something on Aviation because it would mean Airbus, for example, wouldn't be able to use wings or other UK made parts that have been under CAA certification. But you can be sure they will use this to put more pressure on our side.

THE CITY - Are jobs increasing or not?

What are we to make of conflicting reports about Brexit and The City? We apparently have a firm of headhunters (HERE) suggesting Brexit is having a negative impact with financial organisations apparently talking of not if, but when they leave London. The article has the title City haemorrhaging talent. Here is a quote from the article in The Guardian:

GLOBAL BROADCASTERS MOVE TO THE EU

A few days ago James Chapman (HERE) asked Karen Bradley the Culture Secretary whether she could “confirm all US broadcasters are moving out of London because of the PM’s deranged hard Brexit”. Newspapers have obviously picked this up. The Independent (HERE) are claiming that not only US broadcasters but global ones headquartered in the UK at present, are looking to move into mainland Europe with Amsterdam or Dublin being the likely beneficiaries.

DANIEL HANNAN AND IMPORTING FOOD

Daniel Hannan makes some startling assertions from time to time but this weekend in The Telegraph (HERE) he claims we should "embrace depending on the rest of the world for our food". How the farming community and Julian Sturdy, MP for York Outer and farmer will take this I don't know. They are calling for more home grown food so that we are less reliant on overseas suppliers.

NESTLE, BREXIT AND JULIAN STURDY

Nestle's recent announcement of 300 job losses is not, they claim, a result of Brexit. This may well be true and there is no evidence leaving the EU had any part in the transfer of Blue Riband production to Poland. I don't think there is any doubt Polish manufacturing costs are cheaper so it was probably purely a business decision. Julian Sturdy was on television naturally playing down the possibility that Brexit was in any way involved but he admitted there was a lot of uncertainty ahead.