Baroness Couttie:

I agree with a lot of what Lord Kerr has said. If we get no deal or, indeed, a thin deal, as Lord Wood mentioned, there will be areas where it will simply be mutually beneficial between the EU and UK to sort things out and have further agreements, and further discussions. The transition if we get no deal or a very thin deal will be bumpy. Therefore, there will be an incentive to push ahead and get things agreed. I only hope that it does not take so long and is not so high profile as these negotiations have, inevitably, been. It is not just about negotiating with the other side to get the best deal. It is done in a very public forum with everybody criticising and there is the audience of the general public both in the EU and UK, which have to be satisfied, as well as the actual negotiations themselves and the politicians. That, in many ways, makes it harder to get to a deal. I would hope that if we do end up with a thin deal or a no deal that we can quietly get on and just sort out some of the issues that may not have been resolved in time.