Carmakers are an undeniable voice in the Brexit debate

The voice of business has been all but silent in the Brexit debate ever since former Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Rose made such a hash of trying to lead the pre-referendum ‘Britain Stronger in Europe campaign’. Now suddenly there’s a business cacophony: Airbus, BMW, Siemens and the heads of the CBI, the Institute of Directors, the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Chambers of Commerce and the Engineering Employers’ Federation, all saying roughly the same thing: never mind the politics, all we ever asked for is clarity, preferably accompanied by ‘frictionless trade’. But this incompetent and dysfunctional negotiation is creating serious uncertainty and leaving unresolved the issues, starting with customs arrangements, that you should have consulted us about but never did. And now it’s almost certainly too late.

To which Brexiteers chant, ‘They would say that, wouldn’t they?’ And in the case of Airbus, the ultimate EU industrial flag carrier, let’s be honest — yes, they probably would. And yes, the CBI wanted us to join the euro and struggles to shake off a reputation for speaking first for the corporate fat cats. But if you want an undeniable indicator, listen carefully to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Investment in the UK automotive industry for the first half of this year, at £347 million, was just half what it was in the first half of 2017. SMMT spokesman Mike Hawes speaks of ‘growing frustration’ and a ‘current position, with conflicting messages and red lines’ that goes directly against the interests of his world-class sector, which thrived on membership of the single market and customs union.

They’re not making this stuff up, they’re really not. I’ve said before that we’d be
wiser to accept that Brexit will most likely make us marginally poorer, while clinging to the hope that it will make us marginally happier.