Brexit: Opportunity or Threat?

Friday 24 June 2016

Three of Jersey's most senior politicians are meeting at 0830 this morning to discuss how Brexit will affect the Island.

Early this morning, the EU referendum confirmed that a majority of UK residents no longer saw their future as part of the European Union, with a majority for the Leave campaign looking like being 52% - 48%.

Overnight, volatile currency markets saw the Pound plummet to its lowest level against the Dollar since the mid-eighties. 

Although most Islanders couldn't vote, the decision will have serious implications for Jersey, but as yet it is unclear what they will be. The Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, the External Relations Minister Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, and the Assistant Minister Senator Philip Ozouf will be meeting at 0830 this morning to discuss the Island's next move. Senator Ozouf described them in a tweet this morning as a 'triumvirate':

"Ministerial triumvirate CM, Sen Bailhache & me + our teams, who have for months carefully worked up plans in event of BREXIT meet at 8:30am."

Speaking before the decision, Oliver Stones, an Investment Manager with Quilter Cheviot, described this implication for the Island, if the UK decided that membership of the EU should come to an end, for both themselves, and for Jersey:

"Ultimately the biggest threat to Jersey and the Channel Islands is anything that compromises our future access to the free movement of trade and labour. Will the UK negotiations with the EU, post-Brexit, include us? Will it consider our interests parallel to theirs? Probably not, on both counts.

"If Brexit is successful the Prime Minister will have to smash the glass and press the big red Article 50 button to get the process of full-exit under way which could take up to two or three years to fully achieve and in that time Jersey will have to assess how closely to piggy-back on the UK’s drift into the metaphorical mid-Atlantic; or keep a strong rope attached to the continental mainland."