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In this month’s ‘View From The BCC’, Lee Baker, PR & Media Manager for the British Cleaning Council, looks at the aftermath of June’s EU Referendum results, and ponders on the impact that it will have on the cleaning industry.


THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF BREXIT


New Prime Minister, Theresa May, pledged on her first day in office that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ and that she intended to make a success of it. But the reality is, nobody is really sure what Brexit looks like.


The vote to leave the EU by 52% to 48% was a shock that caught most of the political establishment completely unprepared. Although in the weeks and months leading up to the vote, there had been a tsunami of information coming from both camps, no definitive model of what life would be like outside of the EU was ever produced.


The Brexit result has caused a tremendous amount of financial and political turmoil, with some economists concerned that with no Brexit contingency plan in place, foreign investment may dry up, consumer spending could drop, and the UK economy might even fall back into recession.


The referendum was a huge political gamble by David Cameron, called for party political reasons, rather than any clamour from the public. But once the referendum genie was out of the bottle, it became clear that the ‘Vote Leave’ campaign was successfully tapping into the public’s concern about issues such as immigration, and the distant bureaucracy of the EU.


The debate about whether a referendum is the right tool to decide


24 | Tomorrow’s Cleaning August 2016


an issue as vast and as complex as the EU is already underway, but as Theresa May said, Brexit means Brexit, and so now the politicians have to find a way of making it work.


“Economists are spilt as to whether the UK will fall back into recession.


Much like the referendum campaign itself, it is very much who you choose to believe.”


The key for a successful Brexit, in the short term, is getting the outline of a plan in place as soon as possible. But there is already an impasse with Europe. Mrs May wants to negotiate before Article 50 is triggered, European leaders say they will not hold talks until the UK sets in motion the formal process for leaving.


Economists are spilt as to whether the UK will fall back into recession, or will just escape. Most agree that there will be short-term economic problems, like the drop in Sterling, but the more optimistic claim that we will ride this out and be stronger in the long run. Much like the referendum


campaign itself, it is very much who you choose to believe.


But for the moment at least, we are still in Europe, and the uncertainty will start to diminish when investors and economists begin to see what Brexit looks like. The UK cleaning industry has strong links with Europe and these should continue whatever the terms of the Brexit deal. The industry also relies in many instances on EU migrant labour and there is bound to be concerns about this as we move forward with the Brexit negotiations.


Nothing will change immediately, but businesses that trade with Europe, whether as suppliers or purchasers, will need to keep a close eye on the Brexit negotiations, particularly in areas like new licensing schemes, free trade agreements, employment law, new procurement legislation and tax.


The BCC remained neutral throughout the campaign, and now fully accepts the result. But with new rules and regulations on the way, and with so much uncertainty in the air, the Council will be keeping a very close eye on Brexit negotiations to make sure UK cleaning industry interests are safeguarded.


www.britishcleaningcouncil.org


twitter.com/TomoCleaning


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