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A senior government insider said there was also uncertainty about preparatory talks with EU leaders.
Britain could remain in the EU until late 2019, almost a year later than predicted, ministers have privately warned senior figures in the City of London.
Prime minister Theresa May has been expected to enact article 50 in January, setting in train the formal two years of negotiations before Brexit.
Despite great political pressure to stick to that timetable, she may be forced to delay because her new Brexit and international trade departments will not be ready, a City source said.
French and German elections are also being cited as a cause for delay. Britain might not invoke article 50 until France has voted next May or even until after the German poll in September, ministers confided to senior City contacts.
“You can’t negotiate when you don’t know who you’re negotiating with,” said a City insider. And a cabinet minister confirmed to The Sunday Times that there were “some challenges” in the French and German electoral timetables.
The prospect of a year’s delay will anger hardline Eurosceptic Conservative MPs and “leave” voters who expected a speedy Brexit.
Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party (Ukip), warned that failure to deliver on the EU referendum result and curb immigration could lead to mass demonstrations on the streets.
There was a “real danger” that millions of people who voted for the first time in the EU referendum would be tempted to join extremists such as the English Defence League if they felt ignored, Farage said.
David Davis, the Brexit secretary, and Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, indicated after May appointed them that they expected Britain to leave at the start of 2019.
However, their new Whitehall departments are being set up from scratch and the situation is “chaotic”, said one senior City source who has spoken to ministers.
“Ministers are now thinking the [article 50] trigger could be delayed to autumn 2017,” said another source, who had discussions with two senior ministers. “They don’t have the infrastructure for the people they need to hire. They say they don’t even know the right questions to ask when they finally begin bargaining with Europe.”
A cabinet source said Davis and Fox might not be able to make much progress before France, in particular, goes to the polls. “That is an issue that is a problem,” the source said. “Liam and David have talked through these issues and are very aware of the sensitivities.
“So it could be that little progress is made to start with and then you start to see [it at] a pace after that.”
Another senior government insider said there was also uncertainty about preparatory talks with EU leaders, in which Britain would try to reach informal understandings on key issues before triggering article 50.
“I’m not sure they are going to be ready,” the source said. “There is an issue about these preliminary talks - no one even seems to know what the substance will be.”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...9/news-story/764dc8a0d98b64f4e2bafc67469df00e
-
A senior government insider said there was also uncertainty about preparatory talks with EU leaders.
Britain could remain in the EU until late 2019, almost a year later than predicted, ministers have privately warned senior figures in the City of London.
Prime minister Theresa May has been expected to enact article 50 in January, setting in train the formal two years of negotiations before Brexit.
Despite great political pressure to stick to that timetable, she may be forced to delay because her new Brexit and international trade departments will not be ready, a City source said.
French and German elections are also being cited as a cause for delay. Britain might not invoke article 50 until France has voted next May or even until after the German poll in September, ministers confided to senior City contacts.
“You can’t negotiate when you don’t know who you’re negotiating with,” said a City insider. And a cabinet minister confirmed to The Sunday Times that there were “some challenges” in the French and German electoral timetables.
The prospect of a year’s delay will anger hardline Eurosceptic Conservative MPs and “leave” voters who expected a speedy Brexit.
Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party (Ukip), warned that failure to deliver on the EU referendum result and curb immigration could lead to mass demonstrations on the streets.
There was a “real danger” that millions of people who voted for the first time in the EU referendum would be tempted to join extremists such as the English Defence League if they felt ignored, Farage said.
David Davis, the Brexit secretary, and Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, indicated after May appointed them that they expected Britain to leave at the start of 2019.
However, their new Whitehall departments are being set up from scratch and the situation is “chaotic”, said one senior City source who has spoken to ministers.
“Ministers are now thinking the [article 50] trigger could be delayed to autumn 2017,” said another source, who had discussions with two senior ministers. “They don’t have the infrastructure for the people they need to hire. They say they don’t even know the right questions to ask when they finally begin bargaining with Europe.”
A cabinet source said Davis and Fox might not be able to make much progress before France, in particular, goes to the polls. “That is an issue that is a problem,” the source said. “Liam and David have talked through these issues and are very aware of the sensitivities.
“So it could be that little progress is made to start with and then you start to see [it at] a pace after that.”
Another senior government insider said there was also uncertainty about preparatory talks with EU leaders, in which Britain would try to reach informal understandings on key issues before triggering article 50.
“I’m not sure they are going to be ready,” the source said. “There is an issue about these preliminary talks - no one even seems to know what the substance will be.”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...9/news-story/764dc8a0d98b64f4e2bafc67469df00e