Coronavirus: Why we should forget about Brexit deadlines for now – Brian Wilson

Companies that make it through the coronavirus outbreak will not want to be confronted by a no-deal Brexit when the transition period ends on December 31, writes Brian Wilson.

Michael Russell has said there will be no indyref2 this year. Brian’s lunar holiday is also off (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)

Throughout the country, businesses face enormous uncertainty. With half the economy closed down, those which continue to trade worry about how they will survive.

Government assistance is, of course, vital. But how far will it go? How long will all this last? Will customers be able to pay for goods, and if so when? How will exports be shipped to markets with borders closed?

The questions are endless and definitive answers in much shorter supply. Nobody knows how long it is going to take and Government cannot be blamed for that.

It can, however, be blamed for adding to that massive uncertainty. Can it really be true that in the midst of all this, they are ploughing on towards a December 31 deadline for EU negotiations with “no deal” the fall-back option?

Is it really conceivable that businesses which survive the crisis and come blinking into the autumn sunlight, if we are lucky, are immediately to be faced with another dose of Brexit uncertainty? I have always accepted the referendum result and Government’s right to act upon it.

But this is entirely different. It would be an act of statesmanship to say now that the Brexit negotiations are on hold until all this is over, with no fixed deadlines in place. On the other constitutional front, I note a portentous statement from Michael Russell that “the Scottish Government has paused work on preparing for an independence referendum this year... It follows from this that a referendum will not take place this year”.

In a reciprocal gesture, I have paused plans to holiday on the moon this year. Indeed, I will shelve them indefinitely in order to concentrate on more important matters.