An inquiry is needed into impact of Brexit
Richard Wilson, chair of Leeds for Europe, Roundhay, Leeds.
Jeremy Hall’s letter will have made uncomfortable reading for the diminishing number of your correspondents still trying to excuse Brexit because of ‘sovereignty’ (Brexit has only reduced standing of the UK, TYP, May 14).
As Mr Hall says, we have lost influence by quitting the democratic institutions of the European Union. Instead, flaws in our own antiquated parliamentary system have been exposed; unpleasant, unelected individuals such as Dominic Cummings rewarded with power and shadowy pro-Brexit outfits synonymous with London’s Tufton Street given greater influence on government thinking.
Mr Hall thinks Brexit needs to be examined properly ahead of the General Election. Again, he is spot on. Politicians from all the major parties outside of Scotland are often guilty – and conspicuously so – of avoiding its mention when issues such as the economy, immigration and healthcare shortages are raised.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, calls it an “omerta” – or Mafia-style code of silence – in his own Labour Party. It has become ‘the elephant in the room’ for the three main English political parties.
But we mustn’t let re-elected and new MPs off the hook after the General Election. Leeds for Europe will be asking parliamentary candidates in the run-up to polling day whether they will support a public inquiry into the impact of Brexit.
It’s not a new idea. Leeds for Europe initiated a parliamentary petition last year calling for an inquiry. It gathered more than 200,000 signatures and led to a debate in the House of Commons.
The idea was dismissed by Tory ministers and their backbench MPs. But it was enthusiastically supported by many opposition MPs who spoke in the Westminster Hall debate.
At that time, they could do little more in the face of Government objections. But that could change if many of those MPs who spoke on that day see their party in power in the coming months.
Thomas W Jefferson, Batty Lane, Howden, Goole.
Yet another tedious anti-Brexit tirade, this time from Jeremy Hall (TYP, May 14). Here are some realworld facts that dispel the foolish notion that Brexit has reduced our standing in the world.
Firstly, we were recently placed second in the Soft Power Global Index for 2024. It is based on 170,000 respondents from 100 countries, assessed on 55 different metrics, so is a little more objective than the diehard Remainers in these columns.
Secondly, in 2022 we were the fourth largest exporter of goods and services in the world and had the third largest amount of inward investment. Hardly a damning indictment of Brexit.
As for Proportional Representation, it doesn’t seem to have done EU countries much good as many of their economies are mired in permanently low growth. It cannot just be coincidence that this happened when their coalitions gave more and more ‘competencies’ to the European Commission, which is beyond national democratic reach.
Margaret Thatcher’s premiership ended after she said “No, No, No” to the EU’s mission-creep and the electorate agreed with her when eventually given a vote in 2016.