Nothing to stop the rest of world trading right now
I AM writing in response to Andy McWilliam’s letter in last week’s Echo.
It really was surprisingly offensive, with its reference to Goebbels and the description of people as Pigs.
Putting his intemperance to one side, I would like to address his statements on the Post-Brexit economic outlook.
Firstly, he claims 85 per cent of the world are lining up to trade with us directly.
Well there is absolutely nothing to stop 100 per cent of the world trading with us now.
Indeed, our fellow EU members are doing rather better than we are, in trading with the rest of the world. I suspect he might be referring to the number of free trade deals Dr Fox has promised us.
Progress has been very poor. We know that India has already sent us packing, demanding freedom of movement as part of any free trade deal, I can’t see that going down well with the few members UKIP has left!
Australia has said negotiating a free trade deal with the EU is a priority over one with the UK. Japan is another Fox target, they too are negotiating a deal with the EU.
It is worth noting that far from increasing the number of free trade deals, leaving the EU would lose us access to the deals with other, Non-EU, countries that we already benefit from as members of the EU.
Secondly, he informs us the World Trade Organisation manages world trade, I think we could have worked that out on our own. The key point is that nearly 50 per cent of our trade is with the EU, which even after we leave will still be the second biggest economy in the world and on our doorstep, on far better terms than WTO terms.
I could go on and on about the complexity of the WTO arrangements, but you are far better reading the Economist’s extensive articles on the subject, their conclusion is its very difficult and very expensive. But then again they are experts in the field, what do they know.
He then utilises a, what I consider to be coarse, metaphor equating the EU budget to lacta- tion. I infer the point he is trying to make relates to the cost of our budget contribution to the EU. He seems to have forgotten that, contrary to statements made by Farage, Gove and Boris, our exit from the EU is going to cost a fortune running into the tens of billions of pounds.
Andy refers to the 48-52 split in the result.
He will recall that Farage said that if he lost by that amount he would fight on. Well in this regard only, I am happy to take Farage’s lead.
For all the reasons I have set out in this rebuttal and many more, I shall fight on.
I want to ensure my children and grandchildren have a good economic future, in a tolerant, open and liberal country. That is not a country that Andy and UKIP offer.
Thankfully UKIP are disintegrating as a party and are an irrelevance as an electoral force, having lost every seat they held on county councils and losing council by-elections on a weekly basis. Ian Sharpe Chair Leicestershire and Rutland Branch European Movement