We have paid careful attention to how creating trade barriers with our closest neighbours have exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis through inflation and increased business costs, whilst decimating investment in our regions, writes Molly Scott-Cato of EMUK in a letter to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss.
‘Project fear’, as you billed it, has become the reality of a hostile economic environment that has emptied our shelves, stifled growth, and hit our poorest families hardest.
Rather than inviting us to join you on a hunt for the mythical Brexit unicorn, you both must address the daily economic hardships that Brexit has forced on people across the country.
Forget internal party debates. Forget trying to emulate your predecessors. Forget the issues that defined elections long forgotten, and answer the questions that, as the last two candidates to become Prime Minister, you owe the people of our country an honest answer to.
- With the slump in sterling increasing prices and costing the average household an extra £870 per year. What can you do to rebuild our currency’s value and convince financial markets that Brexit is good for our economy?
- Given that investment is critical to the growth you have all pledged to deliver, wouldn’t it be more effective to improve our European relationships than to cut taxes for businesses since there is no evidence that this increases investment?
- How will you seek to reverse the decision by a third of our small businesses to stop exporting goods to the EU because of the additional administrative burdens caused by Brexit?
- The consequence of leaving the EU single market has landed us with increased trade frictions and a struggling economy. Do you think Northern Ireland’s continuing status within the single market explains its recent economic success relative to Great Britain?
- Do you think the switch from European labour migration to global labour migration fulfils the promise of Brexit on immigration? Will you continue the policy of importing workers from countries outside Europe on a unilateral basis, or will you renegotiate mutual freedom of labour movement with our European neighbours?
Throughout this leadership contest you have both shown that you will do and say anything to cover up the economic damage that Brexit is doing.
But the British people are not fooled and, as project fear turns into Brexit reality, we are not surprised to see public opinion turning increasingly strongly against our decision to leave the EU.
It is not surprising that people are turning to the largest pro-European organization in the UK and joining the European Movement.