The Sunday Times has reported that Brexit may not happen until the end of 2019, a full year after the government hoped it would occur. These sources said Prime Minister Theresa May’s “new Brexit and international trade departments will not be ready.”
The French and German elections may have a hand in the delay as well.
French and German elections are also being cited as a cause for delay. Britain might not invoke article 50 until France has voted next May or even until after the German poll in September, ministers confided to senior City contacts.“You can’t negotiate when you don’t know who you’re negotiating with,” said a City insider. And a cabinet minister confirmed to The Sunday Times that there were “some challenges” in the French and German electoral timetables.
Brexit Secretary David Davis and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox claimed that “after May appointed them that they expected Britain to leave at the start of 2019.” However, May only recently became prime minister, which means new people in the government:
However, their new Whitehall departments are being set up from scratch and the situation is “chaotic”, said one senior City source who has spoken to ministers.“Ministers are now thinking the [article 50] trigger could be delayed to autumn 2017,” said another source, who had discussions with two senior ministers. “They don’t have the infrastructure for the people they need to hire. They say they don’t even know the right questions to ask when they finally begin bargaining with Europe.”
May lashed out at Fox, accusing him or “‘playing games’ rather than focusing on the job,” From The Daily Mail:
Mrs May also interrupted her summer holiday in Switzerland to deliver a sharp rebuke to Dr Fox, the International Trade Secretary, after he launched a power grab against Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.In a leaked letter, sent to Mr Johnson and copied to Mrs May, Dr Fox effectively demanded that the Foreign Office be broken up and some of its responsibilities passed to his new department.Dr Fox claimed that British trade with other countries would not ‘flourish’ if responsibility for future policy remained with the Foreign Office.He said that Mr Johnson should instead focus on ‘diplomacy and security’, including overseeing MI6 and GCHQ.
10 Downing Street has attempted to assure people that they consider Brexit a top priority:
A No 10 spokesman said: “The prime minister has been clear that a top priority for this government is to deliver the decision of the British people to leave the EU and to make a success of Brexit. The PM has set out the government’s position on article 50 and has established a new department dedicated to taking forward the negotiations.”
This statement also comes in light of reports that May might face protests from pro-Brexiters for either delaying the exit or giving them a Brexit Lite:
Yesterday, it was also reported that Mrs May is facing an ‘autumn ambush’ from Eurosceptic Tories, who fear that the UK is heading for ‘Brexit Lite’. They plan to launch at least two cross-party groups to pressure the Prime Minister into announcing a strict timetable for leaving.
On June 23, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, leading to turmoil within the government. Prime Minister David Cameron resigned as he promised since his side lost. Then the Labor Party dived into chose over leader Jeremy Corbyn. Members believe he did not do enough to stop Brexit and called him an inefficient leader, demanding he step down from his post.
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