This is a message so astoundingly simple, it defies belief that the government aren’t even entertaining it. Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, did something most politicians don’t usually do in Parliament. He took a swipe at Brexit.
Since the UK officially withdrew from the EU at the start of the decade, Labour have been adamant that there will be ‘no going back’ to how things were. This, despite Brexit reportedly costing the UK a whopping £30 billion in its divorce bill alone.
Keir Starmer has pursued a ‘reset’ strategy that focuses on individual deals with specific countries. However, he has so far resisted calls to roll back some of the more damaging facets of Brexit. The Prime Minister has ruled out reinstating a Youth Mobility Scheme, and he won’t rejoin the single market.
But these two policies are seen as ‘important steps’ by Ed Davey. Speaking in Parliament this week, the man fronting the Lib Dems said that the government was trying to achieve economic growth ‘with an arm tied behind its back’, by simply ignoring the perks lost alongside our EU membership.
Davey didn’t hold back, and demanded that these trade barriers – among numerous other red-tape issues caused by the B-word – should be removed at the earliest possible opportunity, in order to forge a faster path towards economic stability and growth.
“Our economy will not grow strongly again unless we repair our broken relationship with Europe. Removing the Conservatives trade barriers [from the Brexit deal] would be a massive boost for British jobs, British business, and the British economy.”
“But by ruling out important steps like the youth mobility scheme, or key long-term goals like membership of the EU Single Market, the Labour government are trying to grow the economy with one arm tied behind it’s back.” | Ed Davey
