"We’ve instituted full no deal planning within the NHS already, and I would like to see the whole of government going to that position because it’s the responsible thing to do."

– Matt Hancock tells us it's time to prepare for a no deal
 #newsnight | @MarkUrban01 | @MattHancock pic.twitter.com/pDc9UohVLF

— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) December 17, 2018

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Newsnight last night that the NHS has gone to “full no deal planning” and added that there is a need for the “whole of government” to go to that position “because it’s the responsible thing to do”. This morning’s Cabinet meeting is set to centre around the issue, with Philip Hammond set to release a futher £2 billion to government departments for planning. Several departments are named and shamed in The Sun for supposedly having only spent a third of their no deal allocations so far…

No deal will have its challenges but it can largely be managed with sensible policy responses from the UK. One unnamed Cabinet minister tells The Sun: “No Deal must look credible, and the EU must be made to understand we’re serious.” It would have done more to make the UK’s position credible if full preparations had started when May first set out her “no deal is better than a bad deal” position years ago. Better late than never…