It is M Hesseltine again, and this time he has some facts and figures, gathered by his own European Movement. The Guardnian finds time to report them in a comment piece:
there was the report in the Times of the latest survey by the British Chambers of Commerce into the views of its members. A thousand companies were asked to assess the results of Brexit for them; 320 complained of the disadvantages compared with only 59 who were positive....the government’s Office for Budget Responsibility has said it expects Brexit to hit the economy twice as hard as the global pandemic.... the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency says that “since the referendum in 2016, 316 companies have chosen the Netherlands because of Brexit”.... the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations says it expects an enormous public relations campaign to portray the deal as a fabulous victory, but that it will inevitably be seen by the fishing industry as a defeat. That the Food and Drink Federation says sales to Europe fell 23.7% in nine months in 2021.
As usual, I would want to see the small print. Are the 'disadvantages' the result of no longer being able to employ low-wage, no-rights migrant workers? * What exactly does the 'hit' mean? Have any companies chosen Britain? What counts as a 'defeat' for the fishing industry? Was the fall in sales in 2021 temporary or permanent, and due to Brexit or all the other factors?Are any of these agencies likely to be at all partisan -- and so on
I suspect the real beef comes in the last bit:
Nothing so reveals the reality of Brexit as the meeting of European leaders in Brussels, in the aftermath of Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine. Our continent faces a threat as severe as anything since the end of the cold war. I am ashamed that the country that in my lifetime saved European democracy has now absented itself as others determine Europe’s response.
There will, Mr Rees-Mogg, be more councils covering the climate crisis, our environment, international crime, control of the internet. In every case we will be absent. That is what Brexit means.
Tunes of glory fading away...I thought it was Brexiteers who were nostalgic for Great Britain.
*I have just looked up the survey here. It is a bit vague but most of the complaints seem to concern the ridiculous paperwork, now and in the future, which the EC requires and how this drives up costs for smaller companies. All the time a punitive stance towards the UK persists I can see this as a continuing problem I must say. Long term, I hope alternative trade outlets will overcome the problems but it was an unpleasant and unrecognised consequence of Brexit.
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