Trivial tokens and synthetic emotions

LEAVING the EU was indeed a seriously mistaken act of economic self-harm.

Not enough is being heard about this: for example the BBC seems to have put an embargo on any discussion of the subject.

Who knows how many people were influenced to vote Leave in the referendum by the lies, some of them big ones, told by the Leave campaigners and never as far as I know apologised for.

Many people will probably remember the slogan “We send the EU £350 million a week. Let’s fund the NHS instead. Take back control” written in big letters on the side of a bus. This probably influenced the vote.

Where is this money, which amounts to £18.2 billion a year, now that we’ve left the EU? The NHS could undoubtedly do with it at present.

Perhaps less well remembered was the completely bogus claim that Turkey was about to join the EU. In fact the chances of them doing so in at least the next 10 years are remote.

That didn’t stop some in the media claiming that a large part of Turkey’s population of 76 million – up to 12 million Turks according to the Daily Express – would be arriving in Britain in the near future.

As R Hampson said, the government’s own Office for Budget Responsibility is saying that Brexit will lead to a four percent reduction in the size of the economy, which is bound to leave the public finances worse off: others have suggested it could be up to six percent.

The 4 percent figure is about what

the OBR and other experts predicted before the referendum: of course at the time the Leave campaign poured scorn on the prediction. In particular Michael Gove memorably asserted that “people in this country have had enough of experts”. Although perhaps not the experts who have worked so brilliantly to understand Covid and develop vaccines in record time.

Brexiters speak enthusiastically about “global Britain” and achieving the UK’s full potential. I don’t understand how being a member of the EU has inhibited such worthy aims.

The claim is made that, freed from the shackles of the EU, we are now free to set up our own trade deals with any country. Those arranged so far are not wonderful.

Apparently that agreed with Australia favours Australian farmers more than it does the UK’s and that with Japan and some others simply replicate those we had as EU members.

Trade deals obviously stimulate trade but lack of such a deal with China has not stopped Germany exporting goods worth €126 billion to the country in 2021

Of course it would be foolish to deny that Brexit has brought and will bring some benefits to the UK, although some of those claimed are illusory.

For example the replacement of the Burgundy passport – the latter was never an EU requirement – by a blue one which was celebrated with synthetic joy by Nigel Farage.

Nor did the EU demand that we remove the crown symbol from pint glasses, which has now been returned.

But these are pretty trivial matters and there are much more substantial issues to discuss.

Perhaps one of your Brexitsupporting readers will address the real benefits in your columns.

However there can be no doubt that whatever they are they will come nowhere near compensating for the serious economic damage that Brexit is causing and will cause this country.

Peter Slade By email