Clive Crook, Columnist

Ditch the 'Hard Brexit' Fallacy

Leaving the EU's political project won't predetermine the U.K.'s economic future.

October 9, 2016 at 7:00 AM UTC

Clive Crook is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering economics. Previously, he was deputy editor of the Economist and chief Washington commentator for the Financial Times.

Beware false prophecies.
Photographer: Carl Court/Getty Images

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Will Brexit be hard or soft? The question preoccupies British politicians and commentators -- not to mention global currency markets, if the sharp fall in sterling this week is any guide. Despite its command of the discussion, however, this hard-or-soft framing is unhelpful. It's best dropped altogether.

Sterling slumped after Prime Minister Theresa May announced on Oct. 2 that she would start the European Union's Article 50 exit process no later than the end of next March. She also repeated that she'll insist on restoring national control of immigration even if that means no longer being a member of the EU's single market.