Hello and welcome to our latest Beyond Brexit podcast. I'm Emily Kahn. Regular listeners,

or listeners who've seen one of our recent Beyond Brexit webcast will be familiar with the dulc tones of Michael Moore, our senior political advisor here at PWC, former, or as we like to tease him, recovered politician.

Michael has spent much of the last two and a half years undertaking what we refer to as

Moore's Tours, talking to businesses across the UK about Brexit and what they can do to

prepare. This week alone, he's been in London, Newcastle, Brighton and Edinburgh, and today

he's talking to me by phone from the Scottish borders. Michael, can you hear me?

Loudly and clearly, Emily, it's delightful that we all to talk to in this bright sunny day

here in rural South Scotland. Well, thank you very much for joining me. So let's make a start with the

politics. You were no doubt watching the most recent round of votes in Parliament very closely. What is going on? That is the recurring question of the last

two and a half years, isn't it? And after the votes we've had since the turn of the year,

people are as puzzled as ever. I think there are two three really important points that we are grappling

with. The first one is that the possibility of us not getting a deal is very serious indeed.

And that starts from a legal reality. If we do not get an agreed treaty of some kind across the

line, we will leave by the automatic

operation of law, as some of the great commentators like to put it. And that's because we have

triggered the Article 50 provisions in the existing treaties. So from the 29th of March,

at 11 o'clock at night, we are no longer bound by them or entitled to any of

their benefits. Equally, we have legislated within the United Kingdom so that European law has no

role in our domestic jurisdiction. So none of the rules and regulations of Europe apply

to us from that same date. And until something replaces that,

a draft treaty and transition perhaps, then we will end up with no deal. And that's a pretty

serious thing for business. The second thing is that we've been trying for the last of a while

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