It’s time for politicians to stop fighting the Brexit battle
Today a new report claims to show that Brexit “has not had a major detrimental effect on UK–EU trade”.
Trade with EU nations has in fact continued to grow since the UK voted to leave the bloc, the report from the Institute for Economic Affairs says.
“Trade data doesn’t support the Office for Budget Responsibility’s claims that Brexit has caused significant negative impacts on the UK economy.” Economist Catherine McBride argues in the new paper.
The report is, of course, as the routine goes, accompanied by the backing of a senior politician.
This time it’s Kemi Badenoch, who is expected to speak at the launch of International Trade Week in London today, that the IEA report shows “why I just don’t agree with the narrative that Brexit has ‘severely damaged’ our economy.”
“We should stop talking ourselves down, and instead talk ourselves up,” she will say.
The report may well be right that things haven’t gone as badly as predicted, despite many business groups arguing that new layers of post-Brexit red tape and border checks have held them back (A survey by the British Chamber of Commerce last year found more than three quarters of firms said the new EU trade deal had not helped them to increase sales – with 56 per cent saying they experienced issues complying with new goods exporting rules).
But this predictable political roleplay around Brexit has to stop.
The public is exhausted of the political divide that gripped this nation since the UK voted to leave the bloc in 2016.
More importantly, however, its political relevance is fading.
Politicians trying to resurrect the Brexit debate as a new political fault line heading into the next general election do so at their own peril.
The political debate is now dominated by the cost-of-living crisis, housing and how best to resolve the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
And for business, while Brexit has not be straight-forward, they just want competence – something that has seemingly been in short supply over the last few years under the Conservatives.
Proving you can get on with making the best of Brexit, not tired political role plays, is the way to win votes and the backing of business.