BREXIT ENSNARING BRITISH ENTERPISE

JD RICKARD (Weekly News, February 18) adds a novel flourish to the ongoing defence of Brexit by labelling Remainers as ‘Trumpian.’

It is interesting to see how the monstrous Trump’s brand is now so toxic that some conservative voices are prepared to use it as a slur.

But the flourish crumbles at the first touch of scrutiny.

Trump claims widespread electoral fraud and that in reality more people voted for him than for Biden.

Remainers do not deny the truth of the voting figures but point to the reasons why so many were persuaded to vote in a way they regard as detrimental to the country’s interests. In a democracy, opposition voices are still allowed even after the electoral verdict.

So, in that spirit, let me contest JD Rickard’s and David Hutton’s cosy analyses.

Rickard writes that “Brussels excels in red tape and arcane rules and regulations”.

But exporters and importers are faced with a massive increase in red tape.

Exports of fish, meat, dairy produce, for example, have been hit badly.

Customs declarations, conformity assessments, health and rules-oforigin certifications are needed where they weren’t needed before.

VAT is now charged on many transactions that were exempt pre-Brexit.

It’s so bad that the government’s own officials are now advising some British firms to relocate parts of their businesses to the EU, creating more unemployment and less tax revenues.

David Hutton argues that minor problems such as the confiscation of drivers’ ham sandwiches will soon be cleared up.

But permanent aggravations are built into a situation where trade moves from the frictionless to the friction-ful.

What’s truly Trumpian is the brass neck to maintain that Brexit reduces red tape when it obviously increases it, and that British enterprise is liberated when in fact it is ensnared.

NHS and public services such as public health over the last 10 years.

When the virus struck, it quickly became obvious that the NHS simply could not cope, and the whole economy had to be shut down to protect the NHS and save lives, thousands have been made unemployed, businesses have gone to the wall.

We will all have to pay for this colossal mistake for years to come.

As to what Keir Starmer might have said, the last Labour manifesto mentioned increasing the top rate of tax for those earning more than £80,000 a year, reversing the Conservatives’ Corporation Tax cuts, a windfall tax on oil companies, cracking down on tax avoidance, and a tax on tech giants to pay for free broadband.

In the March budget, we can expect the Tory chancellor to force councils to increase council tax instead of funding them properly from the Treasury from taxation, and possibly increase VAT; making the least well

Dr David Webster