Release the Brexit impasse handbrake, CBI chief to urge

Paul Drechsler will use his final speech as CBI president to call for a “pragmatic” decision for the UK to remain in a customs union, unless and until an alternative is ready and workable.

He will say at the CBI’s annual dinner on Tuesday that any solution must meet four customs tests: the maintenance of friction-free trade at the UK-EU border, no extra burdens to be incurred behind the border, a guarantee there are no border barriers for Northern Ireland and boosting export growth with countries both inside and outside the EU.

He will argue that even sorting out customs will only solve 40% of the problem, with the other 60% depending on securing a “deep relationship” with the single market.

He will say: “We need to break the Brexit logjam and fast because there’s so much more that we need to get on with.

“A pragmatic decision to be in a customs union with the EU would allow us to move on.

“We can then use the exceptional talent within our civil service, the drive of business and the energy of our political leadership to tackle the root causes of low productivity and unacceptable regional inequality in our country.

“These are the goals that really matter.

“If we take the right Brexit decisions today, we can transform the fabric of our economy.

“We can revolutionise our approach to education and skills to give the next generation the best possible chance to succeed.