• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

McLaren boss warns of ‘very, very serious’ short-term impact of no-deal Brexit

Mike Flewitt expressed confidence over how the Woking-based firm will adapt in the long-term, although appealed to politicians to show leadership.

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2019-09-17 08:52
in Politics
Gove Cameron Johnson

credit;PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Brexit uncertainty just weeks before the Halloween deadline is “quite shocking” and a no-deal exit could have “very, very serious” short-term ramifications, according to McLaren.

Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren Automotive, said the Woking-based business will be able to “shake out” and manage to the new set of rules once known, explaining he has no worries about six to 12 months down the line.

But he added the effect of leaving without a deal in the early days could impact upon imports of components, exports of cars, result in concern among EU nationals working for the company, and ultimately “could cause disruption for some weeks”.

McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt with the new McLaren GT
McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt with the new McLaren GT at a test event in Saint-Tropez (McLaren Automotive Limited)

Mr Flewitt highlighted the risks of disturbing the cash flow and employee base of an independent British manufacturer such as McLaren, and appealed for politicians to “lead us” over Brexit.

A team of more than 60 people across the company has been working on Brexit planning for some 18 months, with the EU representing about 18% of McLaren’s market once the UK is excluded.

Speaking in Saint-Tropez at a test event for the new McLaren GT, Mr Flewitt told the PA News Agency: “Are we going to leave at the end of October? I’m not sure I’d take bets on it right now – I really have no idea.”

Mr Flewitt said it “isn’t going to fundamentally undermine” McLaren if there are tariffs on cars into Europe as he outlined his lack of concern about what happens six to 12 months after a no-deal Brexit.

RelatedPosts

Durham Police close to delivering verdict on Beergate

Men abusing men: Minister claims ‘no such culture’ in Parliament before encouraging victims come forward

‘Johnson’s lie machine has crashed:’ Letter by former top civil servant sparks fierce reaction on social media

National search underway for Govt minister with a spine following Pincher revelations

He added: “But on day two and day three if we’re struggling importing parts, if we’re struggling exporting cars, if our employees are really concerned because they don’t know what’s going on, that kind of uncertainty could cause disruption for some weeks – and that’s really not good.

“For an independent company like us, you disturb our cash flow, you disturb our employee base, it’ll have very, very serious ramifications.

“What we really need is some certainty, some thinking. We need to know what’s going to happen.

“For us to be staring at the end of October and to be middle of September and to actually not know what’s going to happen November 1 – the Monday is November 4 – is quite shocking really.”

Mr Flewitt said McLaren had supported the Withdrawal Agreement as a “managed way to exit”, adding on the alternative: “To do something that plunges a country, business, the industry into chaos, it’ll seriously damage us financially and that’ll have repercussions on how much money we’ve got to invest in the future.

“All our investment comes from the money we earn. If I don’t earn the money, I won’t be investing.

“If I’m not investing, that has a cumulative impact on jobs, on buying parts from suppliers, on the success of the company, on taxes we pay on everything.”

Mr Flewitt also said he “hates the idea of a no-deal Brexit” due to the lack of clarity anyone can offer, describing it as “no-deal with no understanding of the consequences of no-deal”.

He also said: “The politicians need to lead us.

“Fine, if the country has mandated that we leave, and that’s what we decide to do, but then their job is to make sure the rules, the guidelines, the processes are in place to manage that exit in an orderly way – not to damage, not to undermine the country because we didn’t manage it well.

“If the outcome isn’t a great one that’s a consequence of the fact we had a referendum and we voted to leave.

“But for the consequence to be a damaging one because we don’t manage it properly, that’s downright irresponsible – and it won’t just be supercars.

“Your headlines won’t be ‘McLaren can’t build supercars on November 4’.

“It’ll be we can’t get medicines, we can’t get food, we can’t get clothes, the chaos that could ensue – because there won’t be a differentiation between this component and that component coming in, cross-border trade – that’s the bit I think is irresponsible, to lead us into that.”

Footage reveals just 75 protesters outside Luxembourg press conference

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for London, Saturday 21 November 2020

Classic Ferrari set to be one of the most expensive cars ever sold

Is it time to deactivate your Facebook account?

No queue jumping for Brits trying to move to UK with EU spouses and kids

Photo of girl giving big brother thank you kiss after he saved life with bone marrow transplant

Forgotten Film Friday: The Night of the Hunter

Sunak wants to replace cash with cryptocurrency and gets short-changed on Twitter

PM to ‘head to Scotland’ for family staycation

Sturgeon vows to hold indyref2 if SNP wins in May – whether Boris likes it or not

Billionaire who DIDN’T want a spaceport loses legal bid to stop it

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.