If leaving the EU means cheaper fuel, cheaper food and control of UK borders, could any reader tell me what has been done with Brexit? The Tories blamed the Ukraine war with Russia for price rises in food and energy, and the people traffickers for the boat people. Well, the agreement the UK had with the EU was the right to return any illegal migrant to the EU country they first registered in. That agreement ended with the Brexit vote and allowed the people traffickers a way to make money.
Cheaper energy based on the North Sea gas and oil, when has this country had cheap gas and oil? Never. Oil giant Shell is set to return a further £2.65 billion to shareholders; the group’s earnings of £4.1 billion are up 27 per cent.
Cheaper food was never going to happen; the big supermarket companies enjoy massive profits while reducing staff numbers for self-service.
Then people say why is the rest of the EU doing economically worse? Simple: Trump tariffs. The countries that trade the most with the US, like the EU, will always take the biggest hit, but where the UK trades with the US, the UK takes the hit. Even during the referendum campaign, the leavers said UK economic stability would take 5-10years, which seems to be the only truth they said.
Brexit has resulted in significant economic losses for the UK, with estimates suggesting a hit to GDP and a sharp decline in trade with the EU. One of the most cited figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates a long-term reduction in productivity by four per cent and a 15 per cent drop in trade compared to a scenario where the UK remained in the EU.
Brexit has done more to damage the farming industry with reduced trade and cheaper imports than the inheritance tax set up by the government.
Andrew Nutt,
Bargoed