UK's Brexit proposal pleases nobody but is an important step forward

Brexit is already exacting a toll on U.K. business in the form of lost orders and customers, a drop-off in investment and increased costs for stockpiling and other no-deal preparations.

THE proposal seeks a softer Brexit for exporters of goods, but a hard Brexit for services. The publication of the UK government’s white paper outlining its approach to Brexit marks a significant and long overdue step towards the UK leaving the European Union.

Negotiations with the European Commission have largely been on hold since the initial outline of the withdrawal agreement last November as the UK government could not agree on the direction of travel with regards to the customs union and single market access.

However, with time running out, Prime Minister Theresa May has pushed a softer version of previous Brexit plans with the agreement of the majority of her cabinet.

The so-called “Chequers agreement” overrode the position of the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU David Davis, forcing him to resign in protest.

Following him was hard-core Brexiteer Boris Johnson (former Foreign Secretary), who is seen as a potential leadership challenger to May.

While softer than expected, the government’s white paper is still harder than what most consider as a soft Brexit and harder than EEA membership.