CBI calls for next government to create a 'business Brexit taskforce'

18 May 2017

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called for the next government to set up a ‘business Brexit taskforce’ in the 50 days following the General Election.

Business has the ‘evidence, ideas and solutions’ to help the UK gain an advantageous deal from Brexit negotiations, the CBI stated. It also suggested that a business Brexit taskforce would help solve the most complex Brexit issues.

The business group claims that such a taskforce would help the next government to garner information about what businesses require from Brexit.

This information, it said, would serve as a compass for the next government to use in order to navigate through the details of the negotiations. Businesses would, in turn, get reassurance that the government is listening to their concerns.

However, the CBI also warned of the ‘dangers of the next government going it alone’. It stated that business needs a say in Brexit negotiations, because ‘even when the politics have been forgotten, we’ll have to live with the effects for decades to come’.

Paul Drechsler, President of the CBI, said: ‘At this time of unprecedented challenge, we need unparalleled co-operation between companies and the next government.

‘My message to the next government, whoever they may be, is you don’t need to ‘wing it’.

‘If you work with us, Britain will get a better deal.’