Get off your soap box and save British jobs

BRITAIN is known for its common sense. We keep calm and carry on. But calm heads seem in short supply in Westminster. The referendum result was clear and Britain is leaving the EU.

But membership of the single market wasn’t on the ballot paper. And it could be the best way to get us the Brexit we need.

Let me take you on a journey. A raw crankshaft is cast in France. It crosses the Channel to Warwickshire, where it’s milled into shape. Next stop Munich, where it’s fitted in an engine. Then back to Britain and the Mini assembly plant at Cowley in Oxfordshire. It’s a hi-tech plant that provides jobs to skilled workers. And its excellent apprenticeship scheme gives young locals the chance of a secure future on good wages.

That’s what Britain needs from Brexit. A secure future with decent jobs and wages. Workers spend those wages in other businesses, helping the economy grow. And the taxes they pay help all of us who rely on schools, hospitals, social care and state pensions.

Now imagine every time the crankshaft crosses the Channel there’s a tariff to pay. Every time an inspection. More forms to complete and check.

Britain exports £240billion of goods and services to other EU countries. How much of that would survive the red tape? How many of the three million UK jobs linked to those exports would be safe?

Nobody loves the EU single market. But we should love the jobs it supports. Nobody has told us what the impact of crashing out of the single market would be or come up with a convincing alternative.

We don’t want our workers’ rights falling behind those on the Continent and EU leaders tell me they’re ready to agree a level playing field with the UK.

It’s time for Ministers to climb down from their soap boxes and focus on getting the best deal for Britain. A deal that protects our jobs and rights.