A HARD Brexit could have a “pretty catastrophic” impact on the UK, a senior academic has warned, as he called for the free movement of people to continue at least temporarily after the country has left the European Union.
Professor Anton Muscatelli, the principal and vice chancellor of Glasgow University, argued that there should be “some sort of single market solution, at the very least as a transition”.
The leading academic, who chairs First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s group of advisers on Brexit, also insisted the UK should allow for different parts of the UK and different sectors to adopt varying policies on immigration.
The Scottish Government has been pressing for this, but Muscatelli said the UK Government was “not being very receptive” to it at the moment.
Speaking at an event in Glasgow, he said: “As experts I think we have a duty to point out where the flaws are in the hard Brexit argument.
“We are actually heading in my view for a pretty catastrophic outcome unless we have a relatively soft Brexit.”
Muscatelli also argued a blanket policy on immigration post-Brexit would be wrong, calling for a “a sectoral and a regional differentiated approach”, to reflect the variance in skills shortages.
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