According to a leaked Government paper, a no deal Brexit would let the UK Government ‘take the moral high ground’ and allow European Citizens (EU) to stay in the UK.
If there is a no Brexit deal the UK will grant EU citizens the right to stay in the country, the leaked paper suggests.
This entitles EU migrants to continue to live in the UK, accessing the NHS system and claiming benefits, the paper states. Plus these rights will be guaranteed unilaterally by the British Government, irrespective of whether Brussels agrees to do the equivalent for British citizens living in the EU27.
“Making an offer is not only important to provide certainty publicly, but will enable the UK Government to take the moral high ground. A number of other plans are also dependent on the Government’s position on this issue, relying heavily on the availability of existing labour in a ‘no deal’ scenario,” the leaked Cabinet paper reads.
The paper also details the impact a no deal Brexit would have with regards to the availability of labour for UK businesses.
This leaked document is only one of over 80 documents among the Government plans in the event of a no-deal Brexit, that are due to be released over the next few weeks.
“By September, with six months to go until the U.K.’s exit, Government will need to decide whether to accelerate significantly cross-Government preparations up to and beyond October, in order to be ready in practice to deliver fully a ‘no deal’ scenario after October Council if required,” it reads.
