British business calls for clarity to escape Brexit "black hole"

British business group called for clarity to escape from Brexit "black hole" which "has sapped energy, investment, and confidence for far too long", Adam Marshall, director general of British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said on Thursday.

Addressing in his keynote speech of the annual conference of BCC, one of Britain's main business associations, Marshall said: "To Westminster, we say: we are frustrated, we are angry. You have let British business down."

This comment came after the British Parliament failed to find a consensus to break Brexit impasse on Wednesday night.

"Three years going round in circle," Marshall said, "In many parts of our economy, real-world damage is happening right now: increased costs, orders lost to competitors elsewhere, contracts unrenewed or put on hold, investments postponed, cancelled, or diverted elsewhere..."

According to Marshall, business in the West Midlands mothballing its flagship project and putting assets up for sale because its investors want to move their money "to a more stable country", and this example is just "the tip of the iceberg".

He said: "If the vast majority of our elected representatives say that they want an end to uncertainty and want to avoid a messy and disorderly exit, they must act now."

Alison Rose, Deputy CEO of NatWest Holdings, who also gave a speech at BCC annual meeting, said British business investment fell every quarter of last year, "clarity is all they want."

Edward Mellamphy, the specialist from Flexitrans, Felixstowe based logistics and transportation firm, told Xinhua that, even though Brexit have not exerted impact on their business for now, clarity is also important for them. "Big companies can arrange a lot of Brexit plans, the small business can only hope nothing will change."

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)