Economic and political stakes are too high for Brexit grandstanding
ARLENE Foster’s recent remarks and Boris Johnson’s grandstanding at a sideshow at the Tory Party conference shows their total disregard for the Irish Border question or the Good Friday Agreement.
The cost of leaving the EU will impact severely on fisheries, agriculture and manufacturing, but will also impose increased costs on goods being transported in and out of the UK if a deal is not finalised.
Jaguar Land Rover’s CEO warned that 40,000 jobs could be at risk as well as €18bn in exports if there isn’t frictionless trade or unrestricted access to the single market. Airbus and BMW also have concerns in relation to their operations in the UK.
What will happen when the UK is unable to give Northern Ireland the €11bn subvention it gets each year, or the €300m-plus in CAP payments to the 23,400 farm businesses there? Then there is the peace and border fund of €50m and the science and research fund of €10m. The actual gain from the EU is in the region of €58m.
The UK receives 7pc of the total EU budget for agriculture and fisheries and one of the main beneficiaries is the monarchy.
Are they willing to risk all of this and more because they’re afraid they’ll lose their core support and therefore lose their seats in parliament?
Is anyone brave enough to call a halt to this runaway charade and put it to a second referendum to the people of the UK again, before it’s too late? Christy Galligan
Letterkenny, Co Donegal