Clegg to warn of ‘harm to the economy’ from effects of a hard Brexit
FORMER DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg is to use his first election campaign speech to warn of the “economic harm” that consumers will suffer from a hard Brexit after Theresa May was forced to deny claims she is at loggerheads with Brussels.
The Sheffield Hallam MP and former leader of the Liberal Democrats will accuse the Conservatives of “hurting the very people who need most help” as the typical household will be £500 worse off this year than in 2016, according to analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Mr Clegg’s accusations come amid reports that European Commission president JeanClaude Juncker said Prime Minister Theresa May was from a “different galaxy” on Brexit.
Speaking at an event in London, Mr Clegg is expected to say: “My argument today is simple: Our country cannot thrive without a strong economy.
“We can’t have a strong economy and a hard Brexit. Theresa May alone is responsible for pursuing this course.
“It is already hurting the very people who need most help in society.
“So the question in this election is this: Who will hold Theresa May accountable for the economic harm she will inflict on Britain?
“Judging by the reports of
last week’s lunch between JeanClaude Juncker and the Prime Minister, the Conservatives are once again proving to be as incompetent in doing the right thing for the country as they are ruthless in chasing votes.
“The economic damage is already being felt by the people who the Tories have always cared about least: the poor, the insecure and the vulnerable.”
The Prime Minister yesterday came under fire following reports Mr Juncker walked out of talks last week in Downing Street saying he was “10 times more sceptical than before”.
A detailed account in the German Press of their dinner suggested that Mr Juncker left fearing the negotiations would end in failure.
But campaigning in Ormskirk in Lancashire, Mrs May brushed off the claims as she insisted that they were at odds with what the commission had said about the meeting.
“From what I have seen of this account, I think it is Brussels gossip,” she said.
“Look at what the European Commission themselves said immediately after the dinner took place which was that the talks had been constructive.”
According to the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper, the EU side – which included chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier – concluded that Mrs May was far too optimistic about the prospects for a deal.
When the Prime Minister told them “let us make Brexit a success”, Mr Juncker was said to have replied, “Brexit cannot be a success”.
At one state – to underline the complexity of negotiations – the commission’s president was said to have brandished copies of Croatia’s EU entry deal and Canada’s free trade deal which runs to 2,000 pages.