Responding tonight’s events in Parliament, Stephen Martin, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said:

“It is the collective failure of our political leaders that, with only a few weeks to go, we are staring down the barrel of no deal.

“As things stand, UK law says we will leave on 29th March, with or without a withdrawal agreement, and yet MPs are behaving as though they have all the time in the world – how are businesses meant to prepare in this fog of confusion?

“The clock is still ticking, and whatever the outcome of tomorrow’s confidence vote, the reality is that MPs will still need to find a way to put aside their differences and come to an agreement.

“We are nearly two months out from leaving the EU, and firms still do not know basic information such as the processes they would need to comply with for day one of no deal. This alone makes letting the uncertainty carry on simply unacceptable.”