Brexit plan branded ‘baffling’ and ‘overbearing’ by M&S chief as it will harm trade
Mr Norman urged ministers to relax post-
Brexit trade plans which he called “baffling” and “overbearing”.
The former Tory MP’s comments are the latest in a string of warnings from top industry figures towards the Government over its economic policy.
Sir James Dyson, the founder of Dyson, called it a “stupid” economic approach and the director-general of Confederation of British Industry said it has a lack of “strategy”.
The letter directly criticises the plans for packaging changes which would see companies label items with “Northern Ireland only” or “UK wide”.
“The overbearing costs of a labelling regime would raise prices and reduce choice for consumers, further disadvantage UK farmers and suppliers and impact UK retailers competitiveness in other international markets.
“The simple fact is retailers already operate in real time digital information – day or night, at the click of a button, we can locate our products be that in a depot, in transit or in a store.”
He added: “In a digital era – when one tap of a mobile can check-in a customer at store and locate their order in under 60 seconds, it’s baffling that the Government and EU have rewound four decades to discuss an expensive ‘solution’ involving stickers and labelling.”