• BREXIT is a very bad idea. Government advice sent out in 2016 to every UK household said quite clearly that “leaving creates uncertainty and risk”. The leavers have certainly got what they voted for. And unfort­unately, those of us who didn’t want uncertainty and risk have got it too.

It has been very frustrating to hear the loud chants of “Where’s Jeremy Corbyn?” on both People’s Vote marches. Labour’s ambitious programme, if it won election, could not take place in either a “no deal” scenario or 10 further years of uncertainty and risk, as the UK unilaterally and expensively tries to negotiate trade deals to replace those obtained by 28 countries co-operatively pooling their resources to achieve good deals.

As we have all seen in the last two years, the processes are so slow and complex that they will simply clog up all the government machinery, leaving little time or money to address our real problems of climate change, inequality, social isolation, terrorism, AI and Big Data.

Brexit is no kind of solution to our problems. The UK has much more influence as an EU member. For example, everyone wants the big-tech companies to pay more tax. Does a group of 500 million customers have more clout to force this change, or does a group of 65 million?

Brexit is simply a very bad idea. It has already damaged the economy and will cause further damage. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Office for Budget Responsibility, every Brexit scenario is negative for the economy.

The UK needs to give itself every advantage in what will continue to be a global economy. “If you make a market more difficult than it is at the moment, then what is the attraction to the investor?”

Job losses are not optional with Brexit; they are inherent in the idea. There is no such thing as a “Jobs first” Brexit, any more than there is a “Turkeys first” Christmas.

CATHERINE MILLER
N19