Thread by @NicoleSykes_

Ah, I see we're going to be talking about business preparations for Brexit again today.
A reminder. Preparing for Brexit isn't necessarily good for the economy. And doing everything you can to prepare for Brexit, doesn't mean your business won't be hurt by the fallout (1/7)

The clothing firm that distributes their tshirts & jumpers round Europe from the Midlands. The only way they would have to avoid tariffs/delays into the EU is to move their distribution there. Moving jobs from the UK, something they don’t want to do. Readiness = jobs lost (2/7)

The Northern Irish company near the border that has been asked to do security checks in case of civil unrest. It’s disquieted their US investors and put them off putting more money into the company. Readiness = less investment (3/7)

The North East tech SME that’s spent money on legal advice rather than R&D, because that’s their main source of discretionary expenditure to be flexible with. Readiness = potential growth opportunities lost (4/7)

The automotive companies up and down the land that have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on readiness. But no deal will mean billions of pounds of costs in tariffs on their exports, that could push firms into the red. Readiness =/= safe for the future (5/7)

The retailers who are stockpiling for no deal while trying to manage Christmas, a logistical task they're pouring resource into. But they can only control their own warehouses, maybe some large suppliers. They can't control ports. Readiness =/= a promise of no disruption (6/7)

Of course companies should keep preparing for Brexit. It's the responsible thing to do. The @CBItweets are helping firms do so.
But we shouldn't pretend for a second that preparedness is a good thing for the economy, or going to solve all the problems no deal creates (7/7)