Forum Topic

What are the Benefits of Being in the EU? Acton this Saturday

Come to Acton this Saturday to tell us what you think,Saturday 20th May, 10.30am - 3pmIn front of St Mary's Church & Morrisons - by the marketUnit 1, The Mount, High St. London W39NWWe are running an EM stall, with a Brexitometer for a straw poll for you to vote in as well

Bruce Dickson ● 1219d94 Comments

I think you should have pushed to get the EU reformed and to abandon its plans for ever-closer union before the UK had to leave to maintain some form of sovereignty. A two-tier membership system allowing some members to be in an outer circle with free trading arrangements while those in the inner circle carried on hurtling towards ever-closer union might have been a workable compromise.

Richard Greenhough ● 1219d

Of course, the car crash that is Brexit has to be laid at the door of the EU, rather than little Englanders' dreams of empire.

Robert Fish ● 1219d

Richard, if the UK was to rejoin the EU, what would be the Brexit benefit you would miss the most?

Michael Robinson ● 1219d

See you tomorrow, Bruce, but how to vote?  Tough one :-)

Alastair Banton ● 1219d

Not being part of the drive towards ever-closer union.

Richard Greenhough ● 1219d

Absolutely correct.

Richard Greenhough ● 1219d

Yes but we didn't did we? We went for the nuclear option which is what the twats wanted.I'm no fan of the EU as a political block at all but as a trading block it was simply mad to leave.

Basil Finnis ● 1218d

I thought Brexiteers were no longer using the 'sovereignty' stick ever since the plight of the Ukrainians and their overwhelming desire to join the EU made the meaning of the word clear to those who had previously been slow on the uptake.A modern democracy integrated with the global economy will accept rules laid down from a whole host of supranational bodies and will obey rules that have not been created by their domestic parliament or legal process. This happens if you are a member of NATO, the WTO and even UEFA and applies if you want to do anything in an international arena such as fly planes. The sovereign act is choosing to join these organisations and sovereignty is in no way diluted by it.Brexit has failed because ultimately it was impractical for us to be a club of one in international trade. In 99% of cases we remain bound by the EU rules that applied beforehand and divergence has proven to be impossible not least because of the strain it would place at the land border the UK has with the UK on the island of Ireland. The Windsor Framework recognises that there will never be a meaningful difference between rules that apply in the UK and the EU. Arguably our sovereignty has been diminished by leaving the EU because we no longer have any influence over how these rules are made.As Ukraine has categorically demonstrated, being in the EU strengthens a nation's sovereignty rather than diminishes it . It is disappointing that some people have failed to understand this aspect of what they are fighting for.

Francis Rowe ● 1217d

There is a theory that one of the reasons why Putin launched his invasion was because Ukraine was getting too close to the EU.

Richard Greenhough ● 1217d

RG > "There is a theory..."Desperate and quite pathetic.

John Whitworth ● 1216d

Actually, in this case Richard is probably not far wrong. The requirements of EU membership include rule of law, independent judiciary and press and an obligation to uphold human rights.The countries in Eastern Europe seeking to join the EU have had to implement changes to move towards these standards which has brought them head to head with the kleptocratic style of rule that was the norm in post-Soviet states.Russia continues to believe that it has a 19th century style 'sphere of influence' that overrides the sovereignty of these countries and that it can dictate to them. The populations of these countries including Georgia, Moldova and Belarus as well as Ukraine, overwhelmingly want to move to a rules based system.This is often represented as a desire by the EU (and in some cases NATO) for expansion but the impetus is coming from the countries themselves who wanted to underwrite their sovereignty. Richard is correct to think that this is a key reason for Putin acting in the way he did.

Francis Rowe ● 1216d

And it’s no secret that Putin encouraged Brexit seeing it as a way of diminishing European strength and influence.

Alastair Banton ● 1216d

FR > "Richard is correct to think that this is a key reason for Putin acting in the way he did."Yes, but I suspect that RG sees the existence of the EU as the real problem rather than Putin's actions.Cue references to 'poking the Russian bear'...

John Whitworth ● 1216d

"Yes, but I suspect that RG sees the existence of the EU as the real problem rather than Putin's actions."You suspect wrong. I would be delighted if Belarus, Muscovy and other parts of the Russian Empire embraced democracy and were able to join both NATO and the EU. Sadly, that is not likely at present.

Richard Greenhough ● 1216d

You are spot on Richard.

Janice Evans ● 1216d

I don't think he is spot particularly with regard to Belarus. Lukashenko is gravely ill and substantial parts of his own army, police and security services are profoundly unhappy about the way his partnership with Putin has made their country a pariah state. The democratic opposition, which has majority support in the country, may well be being asked to hold back by the west for fear of a brutal response from Putin should the country attempt realignment.However, Russian military collapse in Ukraine could mean that a shift to the west for Belarus comes quickly.Russia may be different. Huge national resources means that who ever controls them can also impose an autocratic form of government. It seems probable that the country will remain a problem for global stability until the planet weens itself off dependence on fossil fuels.

Francis Rowe ● 1216d

Whatever we would prefer, nothing can happen at this stage.

Janice Evans ● 1216d

I’m sure Brexiteers take some sort of comfort in the knowledge of delivering to Putin exactly what he wanted - not just Brexit but a particularly dreadful Brexit.

Stewart Jones ● 1216d

SJ > "... not just Brexit but a particularly dreadful Brexit."YouGov poll today:14% of Leave voters who consider Brexit a failure think that it was always going to be a failure and there is nothing any government could have done to make it a success.Why did they vote Leave?

John Whitworth ● 1216d

Stewart we are still in NATO, Brexit was no weak link to Putin the strengthis in NATO. We are doing better than the EU,  Nothing wrong with Brexit.

Janice Evans ● 1216d

John people tell lies in polls deliberately to mislead.

Janice Evans ● 1216d

Putin wanted Brexit and Brexiteers delivered it to him. By what metric are we doing better than the EU?

Stewart Jones ● 1215d

The only metric I can see in which we are outperforming the EU at the moment is net immigration rate. Without this our already faltering economy would be deep in recession.Not being in the EU has allowed us to dramatically expand the number of visas given to citizens of non-EU countries. The main increase has come from India after Boris Johnson significantly increased the amount allowed at the insistence of Narendra Modi. With a trade deal with India deemed critical to the success of the Brexit project Johnson felt he couldn't say no. For the Indians it is freer movement to the UK that they seek primarily as part of the deal rather than access to our markets for their manufacturing sector.This influx has been critical in helping us avoid an economic crunch due to the loss of skilled workers from the EU and overall has been a huge benefit to our economy. Going forward however, it remains to be seen whether err.. the British Government can take back control of the net immigration figures because any attempt to do so would annoy the Indian government.Janice is right that not being in the EU doesn't really have much of an impact on the military situation but Russian disinformation campaigns usually aim to sow dissent rather than have specific aims. They probably couldn't believe it when the UK did actually vote for Brexit.One area where Putin did have an axe to grind with the UK over the EU was our support of expansion into the Balkans which the Foreign Office was very much leading on. The reorientation of Serbia into the pro-EU camp really annoyed Putin and the UK played a large role in that. Initially the UK coming out of the EU may have slowed the move to expansion as the main advocate among the larger countries was gone but Putin's invasion of Ukraine has focused the minds of candidate countries who now need much less encouragement to do what is necessary to join.

Francis Rowe ● 1215d

Mean while on planet earth!

Craig David Mcdowell ● 1215d

I agree with most of what you say, FR. It remains an uncomfortable truth for people who voted to leave that they were assisting Putin in his wish to weaken the EU and to damage the UK economy. It was not without Putin’s knowledge that the Russian ambassador gave a ‘seriously boozy lunch’  (six hours long) to Aaron Banks and his Leave EU cronies.

Stewart Jones ● 1215d

‘ We are doing better than the E.U., nothing wrong with Brexit’Janice you were surely being ironic or do you actually think that in some way we really are doing better than the E.U?  Please explain a bit because all sorts of people from the OBR to Jacob Rees-Mogg and other Brexit voters hold a different opinion.So, how are we ‘doing better than the E.U?’

Alastair Banton ● 1214d

Look it up google what are the benefits of Brexit. I'm not saying what Iprefer about it.

Janice Evans ● 1213d

Thanks for confirming that you can’t think of a single practical benefit of Brexit.  No surprise there.  Most people can’t.  As for why you ‘prefer it’, well I’ve got a pretty good idea what that’s all about and why you aren’t prepared to be open about it.

Alastair Banton ● 1213d

Really, well you couldn't be more wrong I know where you are coming fromand it's not going to make me tell you, I never have.

Janice Evans ● 1213d

Your choice, Janet.  If you are secretive people will likely conclude you have something to hide. 

Alastair Banton ● 1213d

It was a private vote, I do have four reasons, I believe 2 have mentioned.

Janice Evans ● 1213d

This is not about the vote which was seven years ago.  Gone, done.  It’s about making worthwhile contributions to a discussion about Brexit benefits.  If you’re unwilling to contribute properly why bother saying anything?

Alastair Banton ● 1213d

You know you won't get an answer why bother asking, look it up on google.

Janice Evans ● 1213d

And Brexit discussions bore most people, the benefits, the reasons etc.,

Janice Evans ● 1213d

… says the person who’s made ten (vacuous) postings on this thread.

Alastair Banton ● 1213d

Francis was trying to have a sensible discussion then we get the sillyquestions what's the point of continuing.

Janice Evans ● 1213d

You are not wrong Janice.There has been a lot of coverage on this issue in the last few days particularly with the release of new immigration figures and, I for one, am learning a lot more about this issue.A significant part of the huge influx we are currently seeing from South Asian countries is on Health and Social Care visas. The social care industry currently employs more people than the NHS and that is where a large proportion of the visas are issued. As social care work is deemed a 'shortage occupation' staff entering on visas can be paid 80% of the going rate although they must be paid the minimum wage.At the end of the five year visa period they will be able to  extend their employment if they are still needed or apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain and ultimately British citizenship.While I am not condoning the use of cheap overseas labour, it clearly is a benefit to have an amply supply of workers who can be employed at below the market rate when there would otherwise be a shortage. You could argue against this being a Brexit 'benefit' because the shortage was created in the first place by making it more difficult for EU workers to fulfill these roles.Other than this, I haven't really managed to find another Brexit benefit. Many of the ones being claimed elsewhere are factually inaccurate or benefits that would have been gained even if we stayed in the EU.

Francis Rowe ● 1213d

Inevitably, one draws one’s own conclusions when someone claims that Brexit is a success yet declines the opportunity to share evidence of that success and merely says that Google has the answers. You won, you really need to get over it and share the benefits of the decision, if there are any….

Stewart Jones ● 1212d

Stewart, I am only one of the majority of leavers, considering all we have been through with the pandemic we are doing pretty well compared withsome other European Countries, regarding immigration the problem is noGovernment have ever prepared for the amount arriving, rather than havingto cut immigration the U.K should have been prepared it was obvious andit had been mentioned over the years that vital services would collapse around us if nothing was done.  Also it was the illegal immigrants that mostwere concerned about, but Brexit was never going to stop the boats howcoould anyone believe it would.  Those coming here on Visa's are legal anddon't see why anyone would oppose that.

Janice Evans ● 1212d

One Brexit benefit Janice - please.

Stewart Jones ● 1212d

Our economy is growing.

Janice Evans ● 1212d

Tony Blair started the rot in 2004 when he shamefully opened the floodgates to eastern Europe.Gordon Brown failed to see what was happening to our failing  infrastructure and the malaise continued under him and successive Tory leaders, all who talked the talk but never intended to walk the walk.In short, the lot of them LIED to the great British public.The bad news is that a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition will be only make matters worse.There is no good news other than the Boat people will be history, thanks to Suella. And even then, only if our civil servive fail in their constant witchhunts.Only an AV system of democracy will open the door to a party sincere about reducing immigration. With Sir Ed in tow with Sir Keir it is feasible a party like Reform could get in but not for another 6 years.

Denis I. Fox ● 1212d

He did open the flood gates with no preparation they came here with the promise of a home and enough to live on or jobs when there was already a waiting list, he never gave a thought to them what they would go through or us, where has common sense gone.

Janice Evans ● 1212d

Believe he admitted he had made a mistake which takes a lot of courageso I do respect him for that.

Janice Evans ● 1212d

So with immigration at an all time high we can put pay to the myth that Brexit took back control of our borders.

Stewart Jones ● 1212d

All I can say to that Stewart is "Think how worse the immigration crisis would be now with open borders"

Denis I. Fox ● 1212d

We don't have an immigration crisis we have a demographic crisis which is being solved by immigration.We have never had open borders. Free movement of labour was exactly that - people could come here to work if there was demand. There remains demand for working age people because of our aging population.I suspect the figures we saw this week are a massive understatement of the true level of immigration. The new system post-EU has attempted to limit people coming to do low-paid or seasonal jobs because they are deemed low skilled but this is likely to have forced some of these employers to look to the black economy for workers. Why do you think we had such a sudden influx of Albanians earlier this year? It looks like the government is turning a blind eye because it is so desperate to support economic growth and parts of the agricultural sector would collapse without recourse to this sort of workforce. Part of the reason the small boat problem has increased so much over the last few years is that our black economy is much bigger than it used to be and there is relatively little chance of being sent back because the government tacitly accepts the situation.

Francis Rowe ● 1212d

Francis, there is no tacit acceptance of the small boats invasion from our Home Secretary; she would gladly wish the illegals on their way to Rwanda tomorrow.

Denis I. Fox ● 1212d

Of course everybody who sensibly voted to leave the clutches of the EU, understood that they were assisting Putin. We were all told by those in the know that we were assisting a murderous thug when we voted. I remember it vividly.

Brian Coyle ● 1211d

Please stop calling people who arrive on small boats "illegals". They are only illegal if they are not asylum seekers or if their application for asylum is turned down. The only illegality is to try to stop them landing, arrest them after landing or deport them before their application is heard. If the government goes ahead with this hare-brained and utterly callous Rwanda programme it will be a violation of international law, and a source of eternal shame for this country.

Robert Fish ● 1211d

Denis, you should have worked out by now that the focus on small boats is a distraction. A very small proportion of the people coming to work in the illegal economy arrive via a dinghy across the channel. A large proportion of those that do come with a genuine asylum claim. When we get round to processing them around 80% are judged to have a legitimate reason to have fled their own country to come here.The amount arriving by other means and staying to work in the black economy completely dwarfs the remaining 20% of small boat arrivals who have no legitimate asylum claim and may well have come here to work illegally. There really is a tacit acceptance of this by Suella Braverman who you have to accept has presided over a massive increase in immigration during her term as Home Secretary. She spends all her time telling you about how she is going to tackle small boats and trying to sell you the totally impractical Ruanda solution while totally ignoring the far larger problem of the growth in the level of employment of illegal immigrants in our economy.

Francis Rowe ● 1211d

Francis, The Home Secretary's speech to conference this week concentrated mostly on LEGAL immigration- Foreign students and their dependents, Hong Kongese, Ukrainians, and other peoples fleeing from war zones.In no way was she distracted by the boatmen, who enjoy good standard accommodation on entry, three meals daily, £10 weekly pocket money, and of course free access to the NHS services.Do you not understand that the vast majority of working taxpayers, whilst remaining stoical in the face of rising mortgage repayments, inflation, the cost of living, the difficulties faced in the aftermath of the pandemic and Putin's war feel resentful of these channel crossings, the cost of which you consider to be trivial?

Denis I. Fox ● 1211d

The initial cost of dealing with small boat arrivals is trivial in the context of overall government spending and ultimately the evidence is overwhelming that successful asylum seekers ultimately make a net positive contribution to the public purse. However, it is wrong and immoral to see this as about pounds and pence - the important thing is understand why there has been a massive surge in the number of people choosing this risky and expensive way of getting into this country over the past few years.The rise has occurred due to government policy.Firstly, safe and legal routes for genuine asylum seekers have been closed off leaving them no other option.Secondly, we have opted out of arrangements with other countries such as the Dublin agreement which previously allowed us to return people arriving on small boats if they didn't have a proper asylum claim.Thirdly, the end of free movement and the imposition of a points based work visa system has meant that there are massive labour shortages in seasonal industries and in certain low skilled jobs. This has resulted in a huge influx only a small proportion are coming by small boat but the absolute numbers are still significant.The Home Secretary is asking for your support in solving a problem that she and her government have created. You are being conned.The solution is self-evident. Come to an arrangement with the French that allows asylum applications to be processed on the other side of the channel and dramatically speed up the applications already in the system. The reason this isn't being done is that it would lead to a one off increase in the net immigration number which is already causing the right wing of the Tory party to have conniptions and Sunak believes he would be ousted if he implemented policies that would actually solve the problem.

Francis Rowe ● 1211d

Neither of us is for turning.Can we both agree that both parties but especially the Conservatives, in power for the past 13 years, lacked the foresight necessary to make their immigration policies compatible with preplanned infrastructure and services.Feisty Suella is doing her upmost to amend the overcrowding but I do fear the future when Sir Keir takes over the reins.

Denis I. Fox ● 1211d

If Keir Starmer does at some time in the future become PM, I agree with you that we should fear for the future, but I doubt if it will be any time soon. Why do the voting public seem not to want him, or Labour, running the country? 

Brian Coyle ● 1206d

Sir Keir is not called Mr Flip Flop by the Conservatives for nothing.He campaigned for communist Corbyn to be Premier, now he's kicked him out of the party.He wanted to reverse Brexit, now he wants to make a decent fist of it.He tells the country he is going to fix all wrong-doings in our society by taxing non-domiciles, and will wonder what to do when they flee the country.To cap it all he is a total bore and 5 years of listening to him would drive most of us out of the country as well.Wes Streeting has an aura about him, unlike the rest of the shadow cabinet.

Denis I. Fox ● 1205d

As reported only yesterday..British factories have reported a 16th consecutive month of falling exports, with manufacturers warning obstacles to trade since leaving the EU are undermining business relationships with firms on the continent.The findings came as the former US treasury secretary Larry Summers said Brexit will be remembered as a “historic economic error” that damaged the UK economy and has helped to drive inflation higher

Stewart Jones ● 1205d

Brexit and our over-reliance on the finance sector are significant causes of the UK’s high inflation rates as compared to the E.U. And the US.  De-industrialisation policies of Blair and Thatcher allowed the finance sector to become over-dominant to our long term detriment.  We need more investment in science and manufacturing and a more sensible trading relationship with Europe.  The following linked article explains more.https://theconversation.com/why-uk-inflation-is-so-high-compared-to-eu-and-us-and-what-to-do-about-it-206583

Alastair Banton ● 1205d

Weaker global demand and global economic growth is decelerating inthe wake of persistently high inflation across developed countries and thereis rising global trade tention.  'GLOBAL'

Janice Evans ● 1205d

LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - Britain's departure from the European Union has accounted for about a third of the increase in food bills for households since 2019, equivalent to about 250 pounds ($316), researchers from the London School of Economics and other universities said.Britain has been battling inflation for over a year, partly driven by its highest rate of food price growth since 1977, with food prices up more than 19% over the last year.

Stewart Jones ● 1205d

It's Global and everyone is aware of that.

Janice Evans ● 1205d

Try reading this Janice.https://www.cityam.com/euro-inflation-slumps-faster-than-expected-to-6-1-per-cent-leaving-uk-further-afield/

Katrina Black ● 1205d

Out of the clutches of the EU.

Brian Coyle ● 1203d

https://fb.watch/kXTN2qS870/?startTimeMs=18000

Steve Taylor ● 1203d

Nice to have met you, Alastair.....Some thoughtful statements on here from Frances Rowe as well.As much 63% now want to Rejoin the EU, consistently since the UK Ref regular polling has shown over 55% would now vote to stay if asked again. All the nonsense about control of borders etc and sovereignty have been shown to be a nonsense. We are now a worldwide joke after the biggest act of self harm in 70 years. Thankfully reality is creeping back in to our politics.Only 9% still think Brexit is a success , even some on this thread, though how they can still think that, beggars belief!

Bruce Dickson ● 1190d

And in response to those who want to know what Brexit benefits we have achieved, I can see you have missed out on the reports of sightings of unicorns, nor have you recently visited the sunlit uplands.

Bruce Dickson ● 1190d

Controlof borders and soveriegnty were not what all brexiteers voted for,so you have not covered everyone.

Janice Evans ● 1190d

Oooh, tempting.  I've often wondered what the benefits of the EU were.  Yes, yes I get the single market but trading blocs often have that and none of them need countries to donate their sovereignty in exchange.

V Killick ● 1189d

That to me is an odd way of looking at it but then we are all different, people were lobbying D.Cameron in 2013 to leave because of the unfair distribution of our money within our Country also because anyrequests we had made to the EU had been rejected,  When the campaignbegan in 2016 they decided to go down the immigration route, think thatwas to do N. Farage just want to point out that was not the reason a lotof people wanted to leave so I'm not sure why they did it that way.  I don'twant to bore the Forum with all this again.

Janice Evans ● 1189d

It's obvious you met Alastair 😉

Janice Evans ● 1189d

Thank you Janice and you are quite right.Leavers voted for several often conflicting reasons. They were made up of about 5 or 6 different 'tribes'. One of which was the impoverishment of the poorer sections, as an act of protest, Empire 2.0, anti immigration, sovereignty, control, better economy, free trade (sic!), WTO (snigger!), staying in SM & CU....In effect the biggest 'tribe' were those voting to stay In, by a very long shot.Hence the necessity of a 2nd Ref on the actual deal was essential (and would likely have failed unless it was much toned down as in a Norway style deal).None of the outcomes in my first paragraph have borne fruit as we are now realising.

Bruce Dickson ● 1188d

I could give you a list of several hundred. You must rerad the wrong papers!

Bruce Dickson ● 1188d

I think we all need to consider Brexit again. We still have not had any proper report on the consequences even!We will likely be back in within about 8 or 9 years so the sooner we all start seriously analysing the outcomes, the sooner a more sensible resolution will be found. Only 9% believe it is a success... think'on

Bruce Dickson ● 1188d

How about a thousand in twenty years timeI guarantee you we are not thinking about going back now or in ten years timeMay i suggest bus spotting

Julian Pavey ● 1187d

You are right Julian, I can tell you we will never have the same relationshipwith the EU, never assume U.K. would be welcome back.

Janice Evans ● 1187d

Not about relationships,its just not on the agenda for a very long time whatever peoples thoughts.

Julian Pavey ● 1187d

That was a prediction, I don't often give firm predictions either.

Janice Evans ● 1187d

We’ve made our bed…..It would be hugely embarrassing for the UK to ask to return. It won’t be on the agenda for years. We’ll never have the same opt outs and vetos that we had. It’s a self-inflicted wound.  The current inflation rate is so Brexit related as the former Chair of the Bank of England stated at the weekend. But it’s done. A disaster. No going back.

Stewart Jones ● 1187d

You mean you would like it to be a disaster.

Janice Evans ● 1187d

You may well be right that he wants it to be a disaster to be proved right, but the evidence is growing by the day about the negative economic impact of leaving the Single Market.You can dispute how material this is, in the face of a growing consensus among economists that it is very significant, but at the same time you have to explain why the cost to us as a nation has been worth it.Is it not the case by putting forward the Windsor Framework to manage trade at our land border with the EU, the British Government has accepted that, in the vast majority of cases, we have become rule takers rather than rule makers, blowing out of the water any notion that our sovereignty has been enhanced?This agreement represented the death of divergence from Single Market rules and there is only one direction for the UK to go now, which is to move back towards integration. How long and what form that takes remains to be seen but the decision has already been made by the current government.

Francis Rowe ● 1187d

You may well be wrong that he wants it to be a disaster. In fact you are wrong . We’ve made our bed as I said.

Stewart Jones ● 1187d

Truth is we did not not do as well oas other EU Countries in the single market.

Janice Evans ● 1187d

In what ways?I've never heard this claim before but it provides no grounds for leaving as we are currently far worse outside it.

Francis Rowe ● 1187d

We looked into it at the time before voting I mean, and I'm sure that is correct you will have to research it,

Janice Evans ● 1187d

Sorry Janice but it is ridiculous for you to make a claim and then instruct people who query it to go and find the evidence to support it.I'm not going to spend time doing what you ask because I believe no such evidence exist.The facts, which are undisputed, is that the Single Market was advanced mainly through the efforts of Margaret Thatcher and continue to be developed with the support of subsequent British governments.Your claim that it structurally disfavoured the UK simply makes no sense.Going forward it may develop in ways that are disadvantageous to our industries because we have given up any influence on the development of its rules. These are rules we have little choice but to continue to follow in most cases.

Francis Rowe ● 1187d

I am going from memory I'm sure someone will research it as I no longerhave all the info on everything at the time.

Janice Evans ● 1187d

In your desperation to justify leaving the Single Market you make a totally unsubstantiated claim and then fail to back it up with any evidence.  How about you look it up and come back with an answer?

Stewart Jones ● 1187d

I cannot remember the original source, prove me wrong!

Janice Evans ● 1187d

This is no the original source but google Derrick Berthelsen 5.11.22 whohas look into this also.

Janice Evans ● 1187d

Janice, it isn't really viable to base a strong conviction on evidence you can't fully recall. Why is an article that you read many years ago having more power to shape your opinion than the daily testimony from people having to deal with the consequences of Brexit in their jobs that it has had and continues to have a profoundly negative effect?

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1186d

It was research carried out before Brexit, we each research things andall I have now is the list of the outcome, under The Single Market It states U.K not fairing as well as other EU Countries, so though I must be correctin stating that, but I no longer have all the figures or the source it came from.

Janice Evans ● 1186d

So remind me. Who said ‘No fool would leave the Single Market’?Here’s a clue - he was lying.

Stewart Jones ● 1184d

Em, you can't change everything in life that you don't like,it's impossible.

Janice Evans ● 1184d

I really have no idea what you mean (again)

Stewart Jones ● 1184d