Brexit

2 December 2022

No benefits to post-Brexit deregulation

Coupled with the pandemic and the energy crisis, Brexit is absolutely destroying the UK at the moment. If you haven’t watched The Brexit Effect made by the Financial Times, then you really, really should.

This article in the New Statesman argues that the deregulation touted as a huge benefit of Brexit isn’t wanted or needed by most UK businesses. It’s the red tape added by being outside the EU single market that’s the problem.

Most businesses have no interest or understanding of the government’s plans for post-Brexit deregulation. And a majority of companies could not name a single EU law that they would change or remove to become more profitable, according to findings shared exclusively with the New Statesman by the British Chambers of Commerce.

[…]

In a new survey of 938 businesses, made up largely of SMEs (and therefore representative of the UK economy), just 14 per cent specified an EU regulation they would remove; 58 per cent of firms had no preference over the amendment or removal of any EU regulation. Half said that deregulation is either a low priority or not a priority at all.

Source: Exclusive: Most UK businesses see no benefit in post-Brexit deregulation | New Statesman

29 November 2022

French views of Brexit

It’s always interesting reading articles from foreign newspapers about the state of the UK. I wish it were true that conversations about Brexit and the damage it’s done were on the table. But I just don’t see it.

Brexit is once again at the heart of the British debate. Experts and the media are openly criticizing its negative effects on the UK economy. On the BBC’s flagship politics show Question Time and on the popular LBC talk radio station, the audience is increasingly critical of the UK’s divorce from the European Union. According to a poll by the YouGov institute published on November 17, 56% of respondents believe that the country “was wrong to leave the EU” on December 31, 2020.

[…]

The presentation of an austerity budget by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government on November 17 in an attempt to restore the country’s financial credibility (after the disastrous episode of the Liz Truss “mini-budget”) has loosened tongues. On this occasion, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that British living standards would plummet by 7% over the next two years. This independent government body said that Brexit “has had a significant negative impact” on British foreign trade, with the decline amounting to 15% over the long term.

Source: Amid an economic and social crisis, anti-Brexit sentiment is growing in the UK

30 September 2022

Brexit Britain = hungry kids

As a former teacher, I almost cried reading this. Can someone with some authority and leadership stand up and say not only was Brexit a terrible idea, but the current government’s fiscal “strategy” will absolutely break this country?

Children are so hungry that they are eating rubbers or hiding in the playground because they can’t afford lunch, according to reports from headteachers across England.

[…]

One school in Lewisham, south-east London, told the charity about a child who was “pretending to eat out of an empty lunchbox” because they did not qualify for free school meals and did not want their friends to know there was no food at home.

Community food aid groups also told the Observer this week that they are struggling to cope with new demand from families unable to feed their children. “We are hearing about kids who are so hungry they are eating rubbers in school,” said Naomi Duncan, chief executive of Chefs in Schools. “Kids are coming in having not eaten anything since lunch the day before. The government has to do something.”

Source: Schools in England warn of crisis of ‘heartbreaking’ rise in hungry children | The Guardian

Tag: Brexit (page 1 of 4)

No benefits to post-Brexit deregulation

French views of Brexit

Brexit Britain = hungry kids