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This new parliamentary report sums up how clueless everybody is about Brexit

Adam Payne,Adam Payne   

This new parliamentary report sums up how clueless everybody is about Brexit
Finance2 min read

Brexit

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A team of researchers at the House of Commons Library has produced a report on what parliament knows about Brexit at the moment - and it is really quite something.

The new report, authored by independent researchers whose job is to produce material for MPs to use to aid their work, sums up how clueless everybody seems to be about Britain's imminent departure from the EU.

It's titled 'Brexit: some legal, constitutional and financial unknowns' and opens with:

"What do we not know about Brexit? An awful lot. We don't even know when the negotiations can start, let alone what they will be about or when they will end."

The report then addresses the many areas where very little or nothing is known about how UK government intends to handle Brexit negotiations and what follows. The language is blunt and reflects how clueless everyone feels.

House of Commons Brexit report

House of Commons library

For example, in one section, the report discusses what parliament knows about the 'Great Repeal Bill' - legislation that will transpose EU law which currently impacts UK law into UK domestic law.

The 'we don't know list' is pretty big.

House of Commons Brexit report

House of Commons library

Here the report talks about how Brexit could impact the rights of EU citizens already living in the UK. It suggests rights could be upheld, but admits it is far too difficult to form any conclusion with any degree of certainty.

House of Commons Brexit report

House of Commons library

Theresa May told parliament that she will not provide a "running commentary" on the Brexit process, a strategy which has led many MPs, including those in her own party, to suggest the government doesn't have a plan. Former Chancellor Ken Clarke told the New Statesman: "nobody in the government has the first idea of what they're going to do next."

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