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06 March 2019 / David Greene
Issue: 7831 / Categories: Opinion , Brexit , Profession
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Brexit: counting down the clock

With less than a month until Exit Day, David Greene examines the most & least likely outcomes on the UK’s horizon

As we head swiftly towards the door, it has become rather trite to say the outcome grows increasingly uncertain; no deal, the May deal, a softer Brexit, a second referendum. Other than the first option, all may be combined with a delayed exit. The profession has made it clear that it sees substantial risk in a no-deal Brexit.

Everything is difficult to predict because majorities for each option in Parliament are wafer thin, but the betting man in me proffers an order of outcome in which the range is from the least likely to the most likely:

  • No deal There seems to be an absolute majority in Parliament against a no-deal, although it would require primary legislation to force the government’s hand;
  • A second referendum While the Labour Party has indicated, albeit somewhat half-heartedly, this is now their preferred option, another referendum is very difficult to put into effect practically and politically, not least because of the impending European
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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