Chocolate, cheese and wine prices to soar after hard Brexit, says Clegg

The price of Britain’s favourite foods will rise sharply if the government pushes for a hard Brexit, former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has warned.

He said fears over the price of Marmite were just the tip of the iceberg – with the cost of chocolate, cheese and wine likely to be hit by a “triple whammy of punishing tariffs” if the UK leaves the EU’S single market without a new trade agreement in place.

Ahead of a Lib Dem report on the impact of Brexit on the UK’S food and drinks industry, 0 Nick Clegg called fears over Marmite ‘tip of the iceberg’ he predicted that automatically reverting to the World Trade Organisation’s trading rules will have serious consequences for consumers.

Mr Clegg said: “It’s clear that Marmite was just the tip of the iceberg. A hard Brexit will lead us off a cliff edge towards higher food prices, with a triple whammy of punishing tariffs, customs checks and workforce shortages.

“The only way the government will be able to avoid this outcome is if it maintains Britain’s membership of the single market.

“We must hold Theresa May’s government to account and fight to ensure what comes next is best for British consumers and businesses.”

The report says £11 billion worth of agricultural products theuksellstotheeueachyear would be hit with an average tariff of 22.3 per cent.