Business groups call for urgent Brexit transition deal
2 min read
Britain's biggest business organisations are calling on the Government to urgently guarantee a Brexit transition deal.
The groups, which include the CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce, have drafted a letter to Brexit Secretary David Davis setting out their concerns.
The BBC reports that the letter, which is due to be sent in the next few days, will call for a deal which mirrors current arrangements as closely as possible.
Theresa May has already made clear she wants to see a two-year "implementation period" for new arrangements on areas such as immigration and customs to bed in.
That could mean the UK still operating under European Court of Justice rulings beyond March 2019, a potential red line for Tory eurosceptics.
And while the EU's 27 other member states have begun preparing for the next phase of negotiations with the UK, there still remain unresolved exit issues, particularly the size of the so-called 'divorce bill'.
HENRY VIII POWERS
The Government may also face problems getting its EU Withdrawal Bill through Parliament, with hundreds of amendments already tabled by Conservative and opposition MPs.
Tory backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg said yesterday he thought there was a Commons majority to prevent the Governent taking on 'Henry VIII powers', which give ministers the ability to change laws through statutory instrument.
“I think they would be likely to win on the Henry VIII powers," he told BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour.
"I think there’s probably a majority against the government on that, and that’s the biggest risk for the government."
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