IT is becoming increasingly exasperating to hear people say it is too early to ascertain the consequences of the Brexit vote. The repercussions are as plain as day and, what is more, they were easy to foresee long before the fateful vote on June 23 last year to leave the European Union.

Last week, the ramifications were highlighted in official data revealing people from other EU countries have been leaving the UK in droves, a very worrying phenomenon that has been dubbed “Brexodus”.

The Office for National Statistics’ data put net long-term international migration to the UK at 246,000 in the year to March, down by 81,000 from 327,000 in the prior 12 months.

The ONS noted more than half of the change between the two years could be accounted for by a 51,000 decrease in net migration of citizens of other EU countries to the UK.

This was driven by an increase of 33,000 in emigration of EU citizens, which the ONS noted was statistically significant. There was also a 19,000 decrease in immigration of EU citizens.

These figures are worrying indeed for Scotland and the broader UK economy. Businesses operating in

a raft of sectors, from hospitality to information technology, have highlighted their fears over the loss of workers from other EU countries.

The ONS figures signal these fears are already being realised. And it is difficult to imagine there is not worse to come.

The Scottish Council for Development and Industry called on Monday for the UK Government to provide “urgent clarity on a permanent post-Brexit immigration policy and certainty on freedom of movement for EU nationals – protecting Scotland’s labour market from net [outward] migration and sustaining the Scottish economy”.

Mark Bevan, chief executive of SCDI, summed up the matter well.

He highlighted the fact Scotland

is “heavily reliant upon a workforce that originates from other EU countries”.

Mr Bevan observed “many sectors, from banking and finance to hospitality and manufacturing, are supported by this labour supply”.

He said: “These workers all play

a significant role in shaping and supporting Scotland’s economy, and it is vital that is protected in any Brexit deal agreed.”

Mr Bevan declared that, with one in 20 workers in Scotland born in other EU countries, employers needed certainty and clarity urgently.

He added: “Certainty that their current, and future, labour supply is protected. Clarity that the UK Government will be proposing

a post-Brexit immigration policy that will continue to support sustainable economic growth in Scotland.”

However, as we have seen since the Brexit vote, just because there is an urgent need to sort things out does not mean the UK Government will feel inclined to try to do so as it dithers and postures and generally emits far more heat than light.

It looks in any case as if the Conservatives who are endeavouring to march us headlong towards Brexit are moving backwards rather than forwards much of the time, getting even further away from any kind of damage-limiting measures as the spectre of EU exit looms ever larger.

And there has certainly been little, if any, concern shown about future growth in Scotland, or elsewhere in the UK for that matter, by the Westminster Government.

Clarity has surely been in short supply, amid a flurry of lamentably dogmatic and often contradictory bluster from the Conservatives.

And it was no surprise yesterday

to hear Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief negotiator on Brexit, declare no “decisive progress” had been made in the latest round of talks with the UK.

As the Tories flounder around on the Brexit front, the UK population at large is already paying the price.

Most people have been feeling the impact of a renewed fall in real wages, caused by a post-Brexit vote surge in inflation resulting from sterling weakness. The problem is that, amid all the Brexit jingoism, many people do not realise that the increased pressure on household finances stems from the decision to leave the EU, while others seemingly choose not to acknowledge this fact.

ONS figures last week showed UK household spending grew by only

0.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the three months to June – the weakest pace of increase since late 2014.

These figures provide further evidence that consumers are, whether they know it or not, being

hit hard by Brexit.

And it remains difficult to escape the notion that the UK Government’s Brexit voyage is utterly rudderless.

The public relations spin cycle has gone into overdrive, as the Conservatives attempt to celebrate whatever piece of economic or corporate news they feel they can claim shows the Brexit plan (whatever that might be) is working. Regardless of how tangential the matter for merriment is, in reality.

Then, of course, we have the Tory hype around Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit this week to Japan. Amid all the big talk, the simple truth of the matter appears to be the Japanese just want the UK to have the same trading arrangements with other EU countries as it does now.

Ahead of Mrs May’s visit, a major Tokyo-based fund management house last Friday warned on the potential impact of Brexit on Japanese investment in the UK.

Katsunori Kitakura, lead strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, highlighted the danger that Brexit could bring tariffs and additional customs procedures and lead to increased costs and lower profitability for the UK production operations of Japanese companies.

He also warned a restriction of the flow of workers into the UK from other EU countries could “pose an issue” for Japanese inward investors in many industries.

Mrs May and her ministers would do well to heed Mr Kitakura’s warning, and SCDI’s plea.

However, the Conservatives’ seeming lack of regard for the slew of warnings about the impact of what they are doing with Brexit, from the business community in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK, does not set a promising precedent.

In the meantime, those who say the Brexit vote’s effects are not clear yet should have a good look around.