UK Leading Business Groups Urge Parliament to Prevent No-Deal Brexit

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Five UK business groups representing hundreds of thousands of companies urged the country's lawmakers on Wednesday to put aside their disputes and stop a no-deal Brexit.

"The responsibility to find a way forward now rests directly with 650 MPs in Parliament… We hope that they will listen and remember that when they return to Parliament, the future course of our economy will be in their hands," they said in a joint statement.

READ MORE: Mainland China Warns Against 'No Deal' Brexit, Urges Tighter EU Cooperation

The statement was co-signed by British Chambers of Commerce, the Confederation of British Industry, Confederation of British Industry, Institute of Directors, and the manufacturers' organization, EEF.

They said UK firms "have been watching in horror as politicians have focused on factional disputes rather than practical steps needs to move forward."

Businesses are reaching the "point of no return," the statement reads, with many putting in place expensive contingency plans, while for hundreds of thousands others who are yet to start planning it is already too late.

"This is not where we should be," the groups stressed. They said a no-deal Brexit would destroy supply chains, divert investment, and lead to massive new customs costs and disadvantages to the United Kingdom’s service sector.

The parliament is expected to vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed terms of exit from the European Union before January 21. The parliament is going on Christmas break and will reconvene on January 7.