Remember the plans for a ‘Festival of Brexit?’ Well it seems you’re not alone as it has gone viral on Twitter years after the idea was first mooted.
The plan was to spend £120m to celebrate all that is good about leaving the EU, in 2022.
Officially known as ‘The Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’, it was labelled the ‘Festival of Brexit’ by one of its founders, Jacob Rees-Mogg. It was originally suggested by then-prime minister Theresa May in 2018.
The government hopes this event would be similar to the Festival of Britain in 1951 and the Great Exhibition of 1851.
With the country reeling from the impact of the pandemic – and the economy struggling to cope – there are many concerned over the waste of limited resources on this ‘celebration,’ which many people in the UK fundamentally disagree with.
A double-dip recession is “on the cards” after the UK’s private sector saw activity plunge this month due to the latest set of lockdown restrictions, according to new data.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit said: “Services have once again been especially hard hit, but manufacturing has seen growth almost stall, blamed on a cocktail of Covid-19 and Brexit, which has led to increasingly widespread supply delays, rising costs and falling exports.
“Worryingly, January also saw companies reduce headcounts at an increased rate again – albeit less so than seen between March and November.”
Anyway it has got people talking again today, here are some of the best reactions
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Related: Outrage as ‘Festival of Brexit’ to receive millions in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spending review