There are no celebrations planned to mark the 10th anniversary of the UK’s European Union Referendum. This is no surprise given a lost decade for the economy, for business, and for our young people, whilst also making us less secure in an increasingly volatile world. No wonder nobody else wants to follow the UK out the door in what is an isolationist nationalist Brexit project.
All the benefits promised to the UK public by prominent Brexiteers, such as Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson failed to materialise. In fact, Brexit has exacerbated the very issues that Farage promised Brexit would fix! For example, despite him arguing that there was no way to control irregular migration as a member of the EU, it is the UK where detections of irregular migration crossings continue to rise, whilst it falls across the EU. Increased illegal migration in the English Channel is a direct consequence, Brexit boats if you will.
The hundreds of millions that the Brexit campaign promised would be returned to the NHS every week never emerged. In fact, research suggests that by being outside of the European Union, the UK is losing £250 million a day in lost tax revenue. That is the entire annual budget for Dundee City Council in my constituency wasted every 48 hours! However, it is not just the loss in tax revenue that is costing us as the UK continues to pay out billions for the privilege of making itself poorer through the Brexit financial settlement. The cost of living also continues to increase for households across the country with research by the London School of Economics suggesting that British households have paid £7bn to cover the extra cost of trade barriers on food imports from the EU.
Perhaps one of the greatest tragedies brought about by Brexit is the one inflicted on our young people, who now face less opportunities than the generations who came before them. Whilst I am glad that the Government have belatedly reintroduced Erasmus, there is a lost generation of those who never got to experience the transformative opportunities this programme provides, and we still do not have freedom of movement which previously allowed us to live and work across Europe. Our young people understand that their future is in Europe, with recent polls showing that over 80% of 16-24-year-olds would vote to rejoin the EU. It is time for the government to start listening to them, they will have to live with the consequences of Brexit longer than most.
It is also time for the UK Government to start listening to its devolved nations, of which two voted overwhelmingly to remain in 2016, yet they seem steadfast in their neglect of our concerns around Brexit. The Scottish Parliament refused consent for one of the most crucial pieces of legislation introduced as part of the Brexit framework, the Internal Market Act, yet it was forced upon Scotland anyway. That could never have happened under the EU treaties and is another example of an 18th century union that is not fit for purpose. No wonder a whopping three quarters of all voters in Scotland would rejoin the EU. Europe’s 21st century model of a Union that respects its members, and their policy decisions, is one Scots can get behind.
Like other Europeans we must understand that the continent is at a critical juncture in history, whether it be the threat posed by Russian aggression or the increasingly unreliable USA. The EU provides a much-needed framework in dangerous times. As well as hard security with SAFE defence procurement, the EU also provides greater food and energy security.
As we mark the tenth anniversary of this referendum, it is time for the omerta of Brexit to come to an end. To not discuss the damage that leaving the EU has inflicted on our country is gross negligence and we must ensure that Europe remains on the agenda at Westminster. Whilst my Westminster Hall debate earlier this week demonstrated the cross-party consensus for a closer relationship with Europe, it is time for my colleagues to have courage in their convictions and back the campaign to rejoin Europe.
Brexit was a poor idea ten years ago; it is a dangerous one now. Those who gave us this Brexit failed, time to right an historic mistake.
10 years on from the Referendum and Brexit has failed; it’s time we right this historic mistake
