Saturday, August 26, 2023

Michael Lambert: Another Week of Chaos and Failure in Brexit Britain

Aug 26, 2023 | This week, there has been a further stream of news stories reflecting the dire state of the UK following Brexit. The government is about to announce a fifth delay to import controls for goods coming into the UK from the EU.

Business confidence is the lowest since 2008: inward investment has just about dried up and our investment in semiconductor research is dwarfed by that of the EU, America and China.

Small firms continue to find it almost impossible to trade with the EU. Musicians and other performers can no longer work in the EU because of new bureaucracy.

The number of asylum seekers waiting for decisions from the Home Office has risen from 7720 in 2010 to over 175,000 now.

Workers from the EU are no longer welcome in the UK and yet the government is advertising in Argentina, Chile, South Korea and in several EU countries for people between the ages of 18 and 30 to come and work in the UK. Furthermore, visas for work, study, healthcare and for families are being granted in ever increasing number to people in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Rishi Sunak said he had inadvertently mislead the House of Commons Liaison Committee when talking of a scheme which one of his wife's companies was involved in. Also, it was revealed that Liz Truss had spent £1.8 billion on 20 flights whilst Foreign Secretary.

HMRC are about to move 9000 employees into a new office in Newcastle owned by a Tory donor whose business is based in a tax haven.

The LibDems have asked for water companies to cease pouring sewage into the sea for the bank holiday weekend. Thames Water which began with no debt now owes £14.7 billion and has paid out £7.2 billion in dividends over the past few years.

School trips both to and from the EU have virtually come to an end.

The brain drain of scientists, and others, continues. Crime, especially shoplifting, is increasing even in affluent Chiswick. And Michelle Mone has been seen eating in one of Mayfair's most expensive restaurants.

According to Professor John Curtice, in a poll of polls, 64% now believe the leaving the EU was a mistake. Since the majority of those who still believe Brexit was the correct decision are almost certainly Conservative supporters, it seems that Keir Starmer is following a policy designed to appeal to that very tiny minority.