No deal would offer no chance for car workers
Comment
WE are of different political traditions, but on Brexit, we agree that leaving without a deal would be incredibly painful for our region and for the country.
We both represent West Midlands’ constituencies that, like much of the country, voted to leave the European Union.
This vote must be honoured.
For both of us, the automotive sector is the largest employer in each of our areas.
The renaissance of UK car manufacturing has transformed the lives of thousands of our constituents as they’ve taken up well-paid work in this iconic industry.
However, as the Brexit uncertainty continues, manufacturers face real challenges as they plan for the future.
Through the 1970s and 80s, the UK car industry was on its knees, beset by poor management and volatile industrial relations.
A range of measures introduced by successive governments created the opportunity for the industry to grow again.
It has now become a world-class success story.
The city of Sunderland now produces more cars than the whole Italian car industry, UK automotive turns over £82 billion per year and employs more than 850,000 people.
So to hear representatives of a major, international car company report that their board now sees the UK as the ‘problem child’ of Europe, is startling.
Firms are delaying investment and spending millions on no-deal Brexit contingency plans; money which they hope will ultimately be “wasted”.
All this is at stake through a no-deal Brexit.
For car manufacturers trading on World Trade Organisation terms it effectively adds a tax of up to ten per cent on their vehicles: in such a competitive global market a no-deal Brexit makes them instantly uncompetitive.
This referendum result must be honoured and the United Kingdom will leave the EU.
However, this exit can, and must, be delivered in a way that protects jobs and works in the national interest.
In recent months, the myth that “no deal would be no problem” has been gaining ground.
It has also been said that we could have a ‘managed no deal’. Both of these assertions are incredibly misleading.
Many believe that a ‘clean break’ from Europe is required and that no deal would finally bring this about at 11pm on March 29.
We must be under no illusions: no deal would be anything but clean.
Leaving without a deal would be a huge shock to the economy: the terms on which we have traded, travelled and operated for decades would cease to apply overnight.
This would cause immeasurable disruption.
There can be no such thing as a ‘managed no deal’ as without a deal there will be no transition period.
However, in order to avoid leaving without a deal, a deal must now be agreed. This will require MPs across the party divide to come together in the national interest.
To put pressure on parliament to do just this, we will be supporting an initiative led by our colleagues Yvette Cooper MP and Sir Oliver Letwin MP.
Next week, this initiative will move to create a parliamentary safeguard to prevent the UK drifting into no deal by accident and to prevent crucial decisions being left until the final fortnight.
If a deal has not been agreed by February 26, the Prime Minister would then have to ask Parliament to vote on either going ahead with no deal, or seek an extension to the negotiation period with the EU.
This would not stop Brexit, nor decide what kind of Brexit we should have nor what kind of deal would work. It doesn’t affect the result of the referendum or revoke Article 50, nor does it take responsibility away from the Government to propose the way forward.
The principal purpose of this initiative is not to delay Brexit ; rather it piles the pressure on MPs to agree a deal that enables us to leave the EU by March 29.
If this cannot be agreed, only then does a delay become possible. We do not want to see a delay; we want a deal to protect our country as we leave on March 29.
However, if a delay is required to get a deal that works in the interest of our region and the country, this is something which must be considered.
Any delay could only happen once; it must be as short as possible, and absolutely not longer than three months.
Our country has barely recovered from the 2008 financial crisis. Politicians in Parliament did not have a choice of avoiding that global slump.
We are on the brink of a similar shock to our economy in the form of no deal, but this time it is in our power to avoid doing such damage.
We must leave the EU to honour the result of the referendum, but we must ensure that we do it in a way that will not devastate the livelihoods of thousands across the nation.
The only way of achieving that end is to leave with a deal.
Dame Caroline Spelman, is Conservative MP for Meriden. Jack Dromey is Labour MP for
Birmingham Erdington.
In recent months, the myth that ‘no deal would be no problem’ has been gaining ground