Blackfriar: Talks need balance between the bulldog and the poodle

In less than a fortnight, the new UK Government (assuming that we have one and there isn't a hung parliament) will start divorce talks with the EU and it is imperative that whichever party is leading the talks conducts them with British business interests at the forefront.

For what it’s worth, Blackfriar predicts the Tories will win the General Election with a majority of 30 to 50 seats.

That isn’t what Theresa May hoped to achieve and she will be weakened in the eyes of the world if she gets anything less than that.

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It’s interesting to note that Panmure Gordon’s respected chief economist Simon French is predicting a 60-seat Conservative majority.

Mr French explained his thinking by saying: “With just a day to go until the polls open there appears little doubt that the momentum of the campaign has been with the Labour Party.

“However like a tail-end batsman swinging for fun, the game appears to be up for Labour despite the narrowing opinion polls.

“The major swing factors are set to be the level of turnout amongst younger voters, the effectiveness of Liberal Democrats in the South West of the UK and the stickiness of the Labour vote in constituencies with sitting Labour MPs.”

He makes two very good points here.

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Younger voters may intend to vote Labour on Thursday, but whether they can be bothered to turn up to the polling station is another matter.

Older voters are accustomed to visiting the polling station – it is part of their way of life. Younger voters would rather click their mouse and do it online.

The other point is the effectiveness of the Lib Dem vote in the party’s previous stronghold in the South West.

Many of these voters are fiercely pro-Brexit due to farming and fishing reasons and will not vote for a party that is calling for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal.

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There has been scary talk from Mrs May about her willingness to walk away from the talks with no deal at all.

Such a move would throw British business interests to the dogs. Now is not the time for Mrs May to be talking about just how much of a “bloody difficult woman” she will be in Brexit negotiations. There is too much at stake.

Two Yorkshire companies announced strong results this week – Leeds-based global project management consultancy WYG and Harrogate-based equipment hire firm Vp.

Both are keen to expand their Continental operations, but it is very interesting to note that when they are in Europe they don’t behave like a British company, they adopt the nationality of the country they are in.

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No-one, in say Germany or the Netherlands, realises that they are dealing with a UK-based company.

Vp says this isn’t due to anti-British sentiment – it just makes sense to employ native workers who understand the language and the culture.

WYG goes further, saying that it won’t be hit by any Brexit fall-out because no-one realises the firm is British.

WYG’s outgoing chief executive Paul Hamer said: “Our Polish business wins all its business as a Polish company, WYG Polska.”

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If the UK is perceived as being gung-ho and determined to have its cake and eat it, the people of Europe could well turn away from British goods and firms. That would be a disastrous outcome for British companies.

The Brexit talks have to be conducted in a business-like manner and in a way that doesn’t offend our EU counterparts.

They will be painfully difficult at times and the last thing British and Yorkshire firms need is a British bulldog mentality.

I’m not suggesting Britain lies down and fails to fight for its future, but we need to be calm, rational and cerebral if we are to get a good deal for Britain.

The last thing we need is European consumers boycotting British brands because the UK has been dictatorial and brash in the negotiations.