LEO McKINSTRY:
AMOOD of frenzied excitement now grips Westminster. As embittered former aide Dominic Cummings pours his vitriol on the Prime Minister, the air is thick with claims of chaos and sleaze. Leaking, plotting, feuding and demanding inquiries seem to be the current favourite enthusiasms of the political class.
Yet these colourful antics appear to have had little impact on public opinion. In fact, one poll yesterday showed the Tories have extended their lead over Labour to 11 points. That could be because, despite the headline-grabbing furore, voters believe the Government is doing a decent job on combatting the Covid pandemic and promoting economic recovery.
The vaccine programme has been a phenomenal success, far beyond anything achieved by other European countries. With around half of the population having received at least one dose, the country is moving towards normality again.
At the same time, post-Covid prosperity beckons. According to the IMF, Britain will enjoy the fastest expansion of any major developed nation over the next two years, reaching 5.3 per cent this year and 5.1 per cent next.
INDEED, the economic revival is already here, helped by the vaccine rollout. The Office for National Statistics reported last week that growth in February was a healthy 0.4 per cent, while unemployment actually fell in the first two months of the year. In an interview published at the weekend, Ben Broadbent, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, bullishly predicted “very rapid growth at least over the next couple of quarters”.
It was not meant to be like this. An army of experts kept telling us the coronavirus and Brexit would leave us a battered, broken island. Cut off from the protective embrace of the EU, it was argued our trade would be wrecked as surely as our healthcare. The Remainers’ narrative of despair featured meltdown at our ports because of border checks and vaccine shortages because of our exclusion from the EU’s scheme.
But the sclerotic Brussels empire is the one in real trouble, as Britain forges ahead. What we can see now is not a post-Brexit decline, but a Brexit bounce. “Forecasts of unmitigated gloom have been wrong and deceitful,” writes Wolfgang Münchau, director of specialist news service Eurointelligence.
Contrary to the grim Remainer propaganda about dwindling trade and paralysed docks, British exports to the EU recovered in February by £3.7billion to £11.6billion, close to last year’s £12billion monthly average. Similarly, a vast exodus of financial services jobs to Europe never happened.
Other indicators are just as promising. A recent survey showed one in three German businesses plans to increase their investment in Britain. Financial giant Goldman Sachs has just announced it is to open a new office in Birmingham, explaining “we see this as a tremendous opportunity to enhance our UK presence and continued delivery for global clients”, words that confound all the bleak warnings from the proEU brigade about Britain’s post-Brexit isolation.
In the same vein, Guillame Faury, head of the mighty Airbus conglomerate, declared recently that “we want to grow in the UK”, having been reassured by our trade deal with the EU.
That deal is due to be formally ratified by the European Parliament tomorrow, making a mockery of eager Remainer speculation that the current dispute over the Northern Irish
border would be an insurmountable stumbling block. Such misplaced negativity illustrates how the Europhiles have allowed their judgment to be warped by anti-British ideology.
Yet the facts keep contradicting their dogma. As with the vaccines and economic growth, Britain is triumphing as a negotiator of trade deals.
WITH the formidable Liz Truss at the helm as Trade Secretary, the Government has secured agreements worth £900billion since Brexit.
Last week saw a major breakthrough in talks with Australia for a £19billion deal, which could boost our exports by another £900million. “It shows what we can do outside the EU,” Ms Truss rightly said.
The EU lumbers on, pulled down by federalist ideology and bureaucracy. Typically, the Commission last week published a 108-page document on its plans for digital regulation.
In contrast, from the vaccines to international deals, Britain has demonstrated how to exploit our post-Brexit flexibility, harnessing our talent for innovation to our entrepreneurial spirit for a bright future.
‘The sclerotic Brussels empire is the one that is in real trouble’