Article 50 author: Britain will get a 'hard, unpleasant Brexit'

LONDON - Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, a former chief British diplomat who authored Article 50, says the UK is heading for a "hard Brexit" because the debates surrounding Britain's EU membership are based on emotion rather than evidence.

Lord Kerr, who has served as an ambassador both to the US and EU for the UK government, was a panellist for a discussion hosted by the Institute for Government on Thursday morning, which Business Insider attended.

Talking about Brexit, Lord Kerr said "evidence-based" policy-making has been abandoned and replaced by policy-making based on emotion and appeasing the will of the public majority.

"For governments, it would be good to get back evidence-based policy," Kerr said.

"But in this country that's very difficult at the moment as Whitehall is charged with delivering a policy (Brexit) it doesn't actually believe in - and the evidence suggests it is right not to believe in.

I can't think of an example like Brexit where the government was working to a single aim that so few people in government actually believe in

"I can't think of an example like Brexit where the government was working to a single aim that so few people in government actually believe in."

Theresa May has given little away about her negotiation strategy heading into exit talks with EU leaders but has vowed to address the public's concerns about immigration by restricting inward migration from the 28-nation bloc.

Lord Kerr, who worked closely with former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair during his ambassadorial roles, claimed the immigration debate in Britain is "beyond" evidence and based on false perceptions.

"The argument that won the referendum was immigration but the problems faced by the NHS would be much greater if not for immigration. Migrants are less dependent on welfare than non-migrants. I feel sad that Labour is running away from these facts and feel like they need to make concessions."

"Supposing we did stop all immigration from the EU, we still wouldn't meet the off-the-cuff 100,000 net target David Cameron set as prime minister. We native Brits are so bloody stupid that we need injections of intelligence. Immigration is what keeps this country running. Evidence-based policy, please."

We native Brits are so bloody stupid that we need injections of intelligence

He added that if May's government prioritises immigration above other issues in Brexit talks then Britain is almost certainly heading for a divorce from the EU, widely referred to as "hard Brexit."

"May says controlling EU immigration is our primary goal, if that's the case, a soft Brexit isn't possible. We are heading for a hard and very unpleasant Brexit," Kerr said.

The panel, which consisted of Lord Kerr, former government advisor Rachel Woolf, and US journalist Professor Daine Roberts, was asked to discuss what the rise of populism means for policy-making in western democracies.

Kerr added: "My fundamental belief is that the political system must not produce policies that don't appease the majority but take the much harder route of producing policies that earn the support of the majority."