SCC Comment on Supreme Court Judgement on Article 50

Commenting on the decision of the Supreme Court to compel the UK Government to seek the approval of Parliament before invoking Article 50 and the UK Government’s response to this, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:

“Many businesses that we speak to are becoming increasingly tired of the legal and political machinations around the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. What they are interested in are the practicalities of what this will mean for their business and their future planning.

“The UK Government has stated that it intends to bring forward urgent legislation to comply with the ruling of the Supreme Court on procedures but that it retains the same expectations of timescales in terms of the triggering of Article 50 by the end of March 2017. If this is the case, then business assumptions are unlikely to change in the short term.

“Withdrawing from the EU is an unprecedented process and, naturally, it is accompanied by a high degree of uncertainty; nevertheless, that is what last year’s referendum bound our politicians to do. What business asks is that they undertake this task in a planned and consultative manner, focusing on the practical risks and opportunities for business and minimising market volatility as far as is possible.”