• Home
• /
• Opinion

KT edit: Johnson's no-deal Brexit plan is causing jitters

Johnson appears stubborn after bowing to the will of the people.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson does not have a magic wand on Brexit. The British public, the opposition and the government should have realised that by now. But will the PM go ahead with a no-deal option and simply break away from the European Union and leave - a seemingly less complicated scenario for his party that earlier made a hash of it under former prime minister Theresa May. The former PM, despite wrangling some concessions from Brussels, was let down by the ruling establishment and parliament. Johnson has no coherent plan to get the job done. Maybe he doesn't want to. Europe is unwilling to negotiate with the new PM on his terms and things stand as they are. May at least attempted to make the split easier with some deal but Johnson has shown little inclination to make peace with the EU. Industry is wary of a no-deal Brexit scenario, the people are disgruntled, the opposition Labour Party does not know what it wants and is calling for a referendum though voices are now more muted than ever.
Meanwhile, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has been trying to make sense of what life would be like without Europe but are getting no answers from ministers. A food supply crisis is on the cards if the government does not act, and soon. The BBC, quoting one supplier, said: "At the extreme, people like me and people from government will have to decide where lorries go to keep the food supply chain going." Clarity is a much-reviled word in these uncertain times when people are set to face food shortages if a no-deal Brexit indeed happens. And by the looks of it, the UK is moving closer to a worse-case situation without a Plan B in place. Governance is at a standstill. Sadly, both sides are unwilling to talk. Johnson appears stubborn after bowing to the will of the people while Brussels is stoic and is content playing by the bureaucratic rulebook. And with an impending scarcity of food, they could be serving up a recipe for disaster.