No-deal Brexit: Amber Rudd says there is ‘no guarantee’ jobs will not be lost PM Boris Johnson says the UK will leave on 31 October ‘do or die’

British workers could lose their jobs if there is a no-deal Brexit, Amber Rudd admitted on Tuesday.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said there were “no guarantees about jobs, in or out, under any economic circumstances”, but that a no-deal Brexit would be “far worse than a deal Brexit”.

Ms Rudd said that the Government was focused on getting a deal, but that it had to be prepared to exit the bloc without a deal on the Halloween deadline day.

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the government is preparing for a no-deal Brexit to ensure the UK leaves the EU on 31 October.

Economic challenge

Speaking on ITV News, Ms Rudd said: “A no-deal Brexit is definitely going to be a challenge for the economy, which is why the Government is putting together so much preparation should it come to that, and we are very clearly focused as a Government that we want to get a deal.”

Ms Russ was asked about previous comments about such an outcome, which she made in March, when she said a no-deal Brexit would cause “generational damage to the economy”.

She added: “I can tell that a no-deal Brexit would be far worse than a deal Brexit, which is why the Government is so focused on trying to get that.

“But we are also putting in place a lot of preparation to make sure that, should it come to that, we will have done all we can to mitigate against any difficulties.”

No guarantees about jobs

When questioned about whether she stood by her previous comments she acknowledged: “I still think it will be a challenge.”



Asked if she could guarantee that no one would lose their jobs as a result of a no-deal Brexit, Ms Rudd said: “Listen, there are no guarantees about jobs, in or out, under any economic circumstances.

What Government has to do is to make it as straightforward and as conducive to good employment as possible, and that is what, the statistics show today, we have been able to do.”

The remarks come a day after newly appointed Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland, admitted that a no-deal Brexit could be “chaos”.

When Mr Buckland was presented with his previous comments where he argued against no-deal on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, he said: “Well, I’ve consistently argued that point and I still do that.”