Andrea Leadsom: no-deal Brexit next week would not be so grim

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Andrea Leadsom: no-deal Brexit next week would not be so grim

Minister rejects long extension as PM says in video she is hopeful of deal with Labour

Peter Walker Political correspondent
Sun 7 Apr 2019 16.05 BST First published on Sun 7 Apr 2019 12.21 BST

A no-deal Brexit at the end of next week would be “not nearly as grim” as many believe, one of Theresa May’s senior ministers has said, as both the government and Labour indicated that cross-party talks to resolve the situation remained deadlocked.

Andrea Leadsom, the Commons leader, said preparations would mitigate many adverse effects of no deal. She also said the idea of a departure extension long enough to require the UK to hold European elections was “utterly unacceptable”.

Her comments came as May used a video statement to talk up the hopes for ongoing cross-party Brexit negotiations with Labour, saying “compromise on both sides” could still deliver a solution.

There is currently very little sign that May will travel to next week’s emergency European council summit with the coherent plan the EU says will be necessary to grant the UK a further delay to Brexit, which is currently scheduled to happen on Friday.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/07/andrea-leadsom-no-deal-brexit-next-week-would-not-be-so-grim

[SwissTony]

1. "not nearly as grim as many believe"

Now that would have been a great slogan on Boris's bus. Isn't hindsight wonderful?