In July last year the Brexiter international trade secretary Liam Fox boasted that a free trade agreement with the EU would be the “easiest in human history” to strike. Thirteen months later, things look very different, with obstacles to concluding a deal – particularly in relation to the Irish border – appearing to grow harder to surmount with every passing day. 

As Brexit secretary Dominic Raab steps up contingency planning, Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said the prospects of a no-deal Brexit are now “uncomfortably high”. Even Liam Fox has now admitted the chances are 60:40 in favour of crashing out of the EU. 

There is no shortage of business voices saying what a disaster a no-deal Brexit would be. But many ardent Brexiters maintain this is actually the best possible outcome for the UK’s future. So, what would it actually mean for construction? 

“If you try to plan for any particular scenario, there are just so many permutations it makes it impossible”

Will Waller, Arcadis

Having triggered Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union, the UK is set to leave the EU on 29 March 2019. If a withdrawal deal is agreed, a transition period would apply until December 2020, during which, essentially, nothing will change, giving time for the UK and EU to thrash out what exactly life will look like after. But if no agreement is reached, the UK faces the prospect of exiting the EU in less than eight months’ time without any vision – let alone a legal framework – for our future relationship with the bloc.

So, what are the specific practical concerns over how construction firms will operate in the days following departure? Here, Building reads the fine print.

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