Conservative Brexiteers have turned swiftly on their Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, after he undermined the no-deal Brexit advice the UK government published yesterday. He delivered a solemn warning about the brutal impact crashing-out of the EU without a trade deal could have on the UK economy. Mr Hammond detailed his worries about a no-deal Brexit in a letter to Conservative MP Nicky Morgan only a matter of hours after the UK government published its own advice to the public, business and interest groups about what could happen in the event of no deal being settled between the EU and the UK.
Conservative divisions begin to show again over Brexit
Splits within the Conservatives have yet again been made evident over the handling of Britain's departing negotiations with the EU. Tory Brexiteers published advice yesterday in order to dissuade public angst and worry about what could happen if the UK does not agree to a trade arrangement with the EU post-Brexit. Whilst hard-line Brexit supporters in the Conservative party have been keen to emphasise to the public that there is no need to panic about what could happen to the country in a no-deal situation, Mr Hammond has been accused of starting "another instalment of dodgy project fear".
Conservative Brexiteers are showing their anger at the Chancellor's lack of unity with the rest of the party's PR line.
The Chancellor's lack of confidence about the reality of a no-deal Brexit was shown by his statement that there could be a 7.7 percent hit over the next 15 years to the UK's GDP if we crash-out of the European Union without a settled agreement. The utter lack of cohesion within the government will worry the public about how effective their negotiation stance will be.
More warnings are being issued to the UK about a no-deal Brexit
It is not only Philip Hammond who Tory Brexiteers have to contend with. More negativity is coming from the World Trade Organisation who has told the UK government that it should not think that falling into a no-deal Brexit is "going to be a walk in the park." This came after the Tories published a very positive portrayal of what crashing out of the EU could look like.
The British public has been worried recently about whether crucial imports will still be able to enter the country if we have no trade agreement with EU countries. There has been panic in some corners that the supply of medicine, food and manufacturing materials will be will be impaired significantly by a no-deal Brexit. Such fears have been compounded by Philip Hammond's statement that food and drink, chemicals, cars and the retail sector will be the "most affected negatively in the long run". With the public receiving two different messages from the Conservative government which do not resemble each other at all, UK citizens are left wondering who they can trust to tell them the truth about the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.
