When in a hole CBI, stop digging.

Remember Carolyn Fairbairn? Only a few months ago the Director General of the Confederation of British Industry announced that only 4% of her Membership were ready for the so called no deal BREXIT.  Three years to prepare yet 96% are not ready.  What an admission.   

Considering the Bank of England reckoned that 80% of UK businesses are ready to leave with the WTO alternative, she sounded a bit out of tune.  

But one thing you have to admire her for is perseverance.  Yesterday it was reported that she sent a letter to all MPs standing for the Conservative Party leadership outlining her views that a no-deal scenario would do "severe" damage to businesses.   And they are her views as not all Members of the CBI agree with them. 

She warned them that smaller companies cannot afford the necessary preparations for leaving without a plan.  

Three points.  One, CBI don’t represent smaller businesses.  Try the FSB for that, the clue is in the name.   

And second, as Mark Carney admitted earlier this year, 80% of business are ready to leave on WTO rules.   

That leads to the third point, and that is the implication that the CBI seem to be unable to grasp is there is no such thing as a cliff edge, just an alternative to the deal the EU are forcing upon us.  

When the biggest manufacture of hole diggers, JCB, decided to up sticks (or should that be digger buckets) and leave the CBI 'over its Brexit stance, Ms Fairbairn never understood the irony of JCB leaving and the the old adage, when in a hole, stop digging.