Wake Smith chairman John Baddeley looks at the latest Brexit news...
With just over two weeks until the 31 January Brexit deadline, which marks the start of the UK's official withdrawal from the EU, most speculation in the media and in political circles is whether or not the details of a deal can be agreed before the transition period ends, on 31 December 2020.
EU leaders are continuing to emphasise the impossibility of the task ahead, supported by all opposers of Boris Johnson – who remains adamant that a deal is 'epicly likely' but also adamant that he will not look to extend the transition period beyond December 2020.
Aside from the future trade deal with the UK, the Prime Minister is pushing the case for lucrative trade deals across the globe, with many pro-Brexiteers seeing this as one of the key benefits of leaving the European Union.
Within the EU discussions, the EU is pressing the Irish border issue and reminding the UK that customs checks will become a necessary part of the withdrawal arrangements.
There is also the significant issue of fishing rights to UK waters, which French, Dutch and Spanish authorities are demanding to retain access to after the UK's departure from the EU.
As a negotiating point – the fishing rights to UK waters may become equally as contentious as the Irish border, with the UK fishing industry hoping to gain a massive boost by vastly increasing its fleet and securing large tracts of coastal waters which are currently assigned to other EU countries.
In the short term, very little is likely to change as the calendar rolls into February, but negotiations will start in earnest and we will almost certainly see the Pound volatile once again as markets react to the twists and turns of the negotiating period.
With all of this pending, it is quite reassuring that on a regional level at least, we are still seeing businesses pressing on with plans, investments have not ceased to happen and the broad South Yorkshire economy still appears to be in good health.
How long this stability might last as details begin to surface of agreements and sticking points within the negotiations as the year progresses, is anybody's guess...
