‘Freedom’ isn’t cheap

THE costs of Brexit are beginning to find their way into our daily lives. The ‘shrinkflation’ in our supermarkets – under which prices stay the same but the goods get smaller – is just the first sign of the fall in sterling which followed the referendum.

More will undoubtedly follow, as rising commodity prices for imported raw materials work their way into the economy. This year’s foreign holidays will be costlier than last year’s.

But this may only be the start. The fastapproaching negotiations on the details of our departure will soon reveal that much we have taken for granted cannot be guaranteed in the future.

Business costs, especially in banking, and jobs based on Britain’s easy access to the EU are also in question. The Prime Minister, Parliament – and, in the end, all of us – must consider very carefully how we approach these talks and how high a price we are prepared to pay.

The decision has been taken. Many voted to leave in the knowledge that Brexit would have costs. But talking about these things in theory is one thing. Experiencing them in practice is another. This country has never put dogma above practicality. It should not do so now.