Ministers blew £15million on a four-month ad blitz to prepare businesses for post-Brexit without using the “B” word once.
The campaign, launched as the Government was accused of failing to do enough to help companies get ready for the new trading relationship, included dozens of adverts for TV, radio and online which failed to mention Brexit a single time.
The word “Transition” and the slogans “The UK’s New Start”, “Check-Change-Go”, “Time is Running Out”, and “Let’s Get Going” featured prominently in the Cabinet Office-approved commercials.
Labour analysis shows that £15,175,618 was spent from July 1 to October 31 on the publicity campaign, including at least three adverts designed for viewing on TV and online, 18 designed for radio, and 75 for Facebook.
Shadow Trade Secretary Emily Thornberry said: “It’s vital that all our businesses and the general public are properly prepared for Brexit on January 1, so it seems utterly bizarre and self-defeating for the Government to have spent all this money encouraging people to get ready, without actually mentioning the thing they need to get ready for.
“Whatever problems occur at the end of the transition period, the Government is gearing up to blame businesses for not being properly
prepared, but in reality it’s the incompetence, bad planning, and last-minute decision making from Downing Street that has put business in this position.”
Boris Johnson said yesterday that leaving the EU’s trading arrangements offered the chance to “transform our country” as businesses adjusted to the new bureaucracy.
But business leaders have accused the Government for failing to give them enough time, or clarity, to prepare, leaving it to the 11th hour to sign a deal with the EU.
In his New Year message, Federation of Small Businesses chairman Mike Cherry said: “It is unsurprising that small business patience ran thin as deadline after deadline for a ‘deal’ passed without clarity.” He added that many firms now needed Government support and advice to help them make the most of opportunities presented by Brexit.
But he warned: “But shooting for the moon requires rocket boosters, both in terms of clear guidance, and practical as well as financial support that fully reflects the needs of all our small businesses.”
As the first lorries crossed the Channel heading for Europe following the UK’s departure from the single market, there was little sign of disruption at the border as freight travelled to France and Ireland.
But Calais region’s customs director Jean Marc Thillier warned the arrangements would face a “trial by fire” when traffic flows increase after the holiday weekend.
And lorry parks were being opened in Kent ahead of disruption expected next week.
