One of the strange things about last week’s referendum on membership of the European Union is that (in contrast with the Scottish Independence referendum of 2014 when the Scottish Government was obliged to produce a detailed proposal for independence) no-one has identified which of the numerous options for operating outside the European Union was actually on the table. This means that the government now needs to decide which option to take.

I think that staying in the single European market is critical for the economy. My preference would therefore be to opt for the closest relationship possible with the European Union while not being a full member. This would enable the United Kingdom to continue to trade in the European single market and would reflect the fact that while a majority voted to ‘leave’ a substantial minority voted to ‘remain’ and wanted a continued close relationship with Europe. This would probably involve a similar arrangement to that enjoyed by Norway and Switzerland, including joining the European Economic Area. It would ensure continued co-operation and good relations with all European countries. It would enable the United Kingdom to continue working in partnership with other countries on trade, market access, environmental, security and regulatory questions.

I would also suggest that the United Kingdom government commits itself to retaining (or even enhancing) the European Union directives on human rights, workers’ rights and consumers’ rights; and continues to respect the European Court. This would include directives such as the working time directive and the temporary agency workers’ directive. These require countries to maintain a limit on average weekly hours, minimum rest periods and paid annual leave; and provide that temporary workers supplied by agencies should not face discrimination over pay and working conditions when they are doing the same work as the employer's own staff.

Obviously, the outcome of the referendum must be respected, but I would suggest that the option of re-joining the European Union at some stage should be kept open - especially in view of the fact that most young people wanted to remain in the European Union.

The decision to leave the European Union has already resulted in sharp falls in the value of sterling and the value of United Kingdom companies. The United Kingdom economy dropped from being the fifth largest in the world to being the sixth overnight! In these circumstances it will be important for the government to pay careful attention to the economy and public finances. It is likely that measures will need to be taken to protect the value of assets, pensions and savings including changes to interest rates, taxation and public expenditure. I hope that it will be possible to do this while at the same time protecting jobs and incomes.

Adrian Waite

Appleby