Although it has taken far too long to materialise, Brexit is finally up for discussion. Endless tales of Brexit damage now fill the media, even of the right-wing variety. Polls now regularly show that the public have not only turned against Brexit, but are increasingly in favour of a return to the single market, the customs union, and even the EU itself.

That change in public opinion has come about without any benefits of EU membership even being mentioned. Not only that, but public support for Brexit has fallen away despite blatant governmental mistruths about our abilities to act as an independent nation over, for example, the vaccine roll-out or support for Ukraine.

The fact that the public and the media can now clearly see the elephant in the room is progress, and welcome, even if it hasn’t yet trickled down to our parliamentary representatives. But any talk of Brexit now follows an ill-advised path, that of fear, doom and gloom. It has become a negative story of damage and failure, and it’s eerily reminiscent of the underlying negativity (albeit prophetic) of the cross-party Remain campaign.

Project Fear

The pre-referendum approach taken by David Cameron’s government and their pro-European allies in the opposition – labelled as ‘Project Fear’ by the Leave campaign – was a failure waiting to happen. Not only did the government fail to grasp the nation’s desperate desire for change, but their pessimistic campaign provided little factual information about the EU itself and, crucially, very little hope.

What was missing then, as now, was any celebration or explanation of the benefits of our 40-year long relationship with our friends and closest neighbours. Instead, the Leave campaign mendaciously persuaded the majority of the voting public that any benefits were nothing to do with the EU, or at the very least, would not be lost when we left.

EU achievements and tangible benefits

Before Brexit, most people’s knowledge of the benefits of EU citizenship was sketchy at best and misinformed at worst. Having since experienced the loss of many valuable rights, their absence has made our hearts fonder. We better understand now how little we knew of the EU and how much we took for granted.

Less familiar still, were the key achievements of the European Union, as they see and promote them. The list of the EU’s four key achievements on the European Union website is no doubt the envy of democracies across the globe:

• A continent in peace
• Freedom for its citizens to live, study or work anywhere in the EU
• The world’s biggest single market
• Aid and development assistance for millions of people worldwide

Peace and stability

The foremost achievement of the EU has been decades of peace across the continent. Following World War II, Western European countries sought closer political ties, with the aim of achieving economic growth and military security. Decades later, Europe has now seen “70 years of lasting peace” – the longest period in its history.

In accordance with this unbroken “peace, stability and prosperity”, the EU continues to foster “democracy, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law – across the globe”. As a result, it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

The war in Ukraine has proved the value of collaboration and cooperation with our neighbours for the benefit and security of all. Ukraine is now en route to becoming an EU member itself, having been granted “the status of a candidate to accession” in June 2022. No doubt the people of Ukraine understand only too well the benefits that EU membership will bring.

The single market

Where other benefits of EU membership may not be as well understood, the benefits of single market membership are more widely appreciated, even by Brexit supporters. In fact, many prominent Brexiters regularly assured the public that the benefits of single market membership would still be ours outside of the EU.

The single market allows for four freedoms of movement – of goods, services, money and people. Even some staunch Brexiters appreciate the value of the first three. However, the free movement of people was painted as the cause of unacceptable (to them) levels of immigration. Thanks to the likes of Nigel Farage and his toxic ‘breaking point’ poster, EU citizens, along with the EU itself, were effectively ‘othered’ in the eyes of some of the public.

Nobody is making a positive case for immigration

If there is one benefit of EU membership that’s crying out for a positive political campaign, it’s immigration. ‘Taking back control’ of our borders and reducing immigration was a rallying cry of the Leave campaign. The fact that before the referendum the British public did not appear to have a problem with EU citizens coming to the UK to live, work or study, didn’t factor into their thinking.

Apart from ignoring the positive aspects of EU immigration – on our economy, trade and culture – taking back control of our borders has not worked. Although EU immigration is down since Brexit, net migration numbers are now reaching record levels at over 500,000 in 2022. This at a time when businesses are begging the government to make it easier for them to employ staff from the EU.

Not only does the UK need migration from the EU, but we desperately need to change the dialogue. EU citizens have had a positive impact on our economy, trade and culture and have been our family, friends, colleagues and neighbours, for decades. Our country needs a return to the days of friendship, cooperation and tolerance – qualities we used to be proud of and which were the envy of the world.

The loss of freedom of movement affects us the most

Whilst it’s incredibly sad and damaging that EU citizens are leaving the UK, or have stopped coming, they at least are left with other options. EU citizens still have their freedom of movement across Europe, can move around with ease, and are welcomed with open arms.

UK nationals, on the other hand, have lost the automatic opportunity to live, love, study, work and retire in 27 EU countries. It’s not impossible to move to the EU post-Brexit, but it is considerably more complicated and expensive and no longer an option for everyone. For example, those relying on a UK state pension as their sole source of earnings would no longer meet the income threshold for retirement in Spain.

Not only is it more difficult to plan a life in the EU, but over 2500 Brits that had already made that commitment are now being expelled and sent back to Blighty. It would rather seem as though the EU are better at taking back control of their borders than the UK appears to be.

1000s of Britons expelled from EU. An unelected Eurocrat should not comment on the words of an elected politician. BUT it is sad to recall PM Johnson said “British people will still be able to go to work in the EU; to live; to travel; to study & buy homes” https://t.co/R5AQ0UEMto

— Graham Blythe (@EUEdinGraham) January 7, 2023

Recent polls tell us that Brexit is no longer the “will of the people”. That pervasive idiom was used by politicians as justification for the hardest Brexit possible, and should it go horribly wrong, either the public at large, remain supporters, or the EU were to be made the obvious scapegoats.

Whether Brexit ever really was the will of the people is highly debatable. What isn’t debatable is that Brexit no longer has public support, even if our politicians refuse to accept the facts.

It’s high time we all took a fresh look at Europe. Whether it’s gradually increasing our engagement with our neighbours or a full-on campaign to become EU members again, it’s time to be honest about the benefits, rights and opportunities that we threw away.

The public and some voices in the media are beginning to shine some light on the reality of post-Brexit Britain. Sadly, in Westminster, burying heads in the sand is still in vogue.

Brexit denial and fear is as strong in political (and some media) circles as it ever was. It’s time to inject some truth, hope and optimism into the discourse and build progressively toward a more positive future for all.

As we start a new year, it’s only natural to look forward with a degree of trepidation, hopefully tempered with a dollop of optimism. Whether you are taking stock from a personal standpoint or thinking more widely about our country’s future, like it or not, Brexit will be a factor. Perhaps a very significant one.

You don't need to search for very long before the answer is presented to you… It's been a disaster.https://t.co/XHKsDx0XwI

— European Movement UK (@euromove) January 1, 2023

A shift in public opinion on Brexit in 2022

A noticeable difference during 2022 has been a change in public opinion towards Brexit. With the impact of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine no longer disguising the true damage of the UK having left the EU, polls are regularly demonstrating a shift in public attitude. In addition, the media have become more vocal on the subject, regularly calling out the losses to trade, the damage to the economy and the threat to our rights.

Not only are the public turning against Brexit in record numbers, but according to the latest poll, two-thirds now support a future referendum on EU membership. You will, however, still struggle to find political parties supporting this dramatic change in opinion. Our politicians – unlike the majority of the British public – are still in denial; still trying to ‘make Brexit work’.

Encompassing reduced trade, diminished investment, being the only major economy not to have returned to its pre-pandemic size and a £40bn annual hit to tax revenues, the wreckage of Brexit is all around us but our politicians will still not acknowledge it. https://t.co/b6czeYX1aI

— Brexitshambles (@brexit_sham) January 1, 2023

The bad news

Whether it’s Labour’s version of Brexit, or the Conservative’s, the major threats over the next 12 months will come directly from our own government. With no realistic plans to improve trading with the EU, and any new trade deals unlikely to come close to compensating for Brexit losses, the road to economic recovery is a long way off.

The British Chambers of Commerce is predicting that the UK economy will not start to grow again until the last quarter of this year and that investment will continue to fall by 1.8%. Their annual expectation for GDP growth – broadly in line with forecasts from the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – is at -1.3%. The OBR are also predicting a rise in unemployment thanks to the economic slump. Ironically, this comes at a time when employers are struggling to find desperately needed staff, some closing their doors for good as a result

But despite the very real concerns relating to the British economy, some of the biggest Brexit threats will come from government legislative proposals. Whether it’s the drive to remove our right to protest (public order bill) or the threat to our Human Rights (bill of rights bill), we need to be paying close attention to government legislation. Let’s also not forget the Northern Ireland protocol bill, which threatens to break international law and further damage our global reputation.

Perhaps one of the most worrying legislative threats – to our health, safety, working, environmental standards – comes from the so-called ‘Brexit freedoms bill’ (retained EU law (revocation and reform) bill). At the end of the year, if the bill is not stopped or seriously amended, all EU protections of our rights and standards will fall away unchallenged. Surely by then only true followers of the Brexit cult will still believe that any government promises to protect, or even improve, our rights, are safe in their dirty hands.

He literally told us he didn’t believe in holiday pay…

And the Retained EU Law Bill is his brainchild

So let’s not be shocked to learn this means the end of protections like:

Holiday pay & equal pay for women

These are the real Brexit benefits

…and they were never for us. pic.twitter.com/CQAtP10NPo

— Marina Purkiss (@MarinaPurkiss) December 29, 2022

If you really want to give yourself a fright this year, you only need listen to the home secretary expressing her views on immigration and Rwanda. And if that’s not enough to keep you awake at night, then take a close look at our deliberately underfunded public sector – especially the NHS – and be very, very afraid.

The good news

While we may still be some distance from rejoining the EU, it is becoming increasingly common to hear talk of rejoining the single market and/or customs union. Not that we can expect either to come about in 2023, but we can expect to hear more businesses, more industries, more media, and even perhaps more politicians daring to debate the previously undebatable. While a change in public perception of Brexit may not yet have shifted political opinion, surely it must soon.

Already the third year without you 💔

To all our friends in the UK:

We still miss you.

And of course, we want you back.

Whenever you are ready.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 🇪🇺❤️🇬🇧#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/WXG13LO39O

— Terry Reintke (@TerryReintke) December 31, 2022

One thing we can be relatively certain of is that this is the last full year of a Conservative government, hopefully for a decade at least. Though don’t expect those in power to give up without an ugly fight and a further considerable waste of taxpayers’ money.

This year sees Ireland and Denmark celebrating the 50th Anniversary of joining the EU. Had it not been for Brexit, we would be joining those golden anniversary celebrations. In fact, had it not been for Brexit, there’s a long list of things we would, could, should be doing.

Brexit has stolen so much from us, both individually and nationally. It will continue to do so for some time yet, and for as long as this government holds on to power. But whatever the future holds, we must be vigilant and active, and we must hang on to the hopes that a new year promises.

I’m going to enjoy 2023. But I can’t help thinking about the joy to come in 2024 when it comes to a general election. In the meantime, if you dislike this government and you’ve had enough of Brexit, get your boots on! There’s work to be done.

No one likes to think our convictions are manipulated by what we read and see in our news and social media. Yet they are, and for Harry and Meghan, that manipulation has led to an unprecedented scale of bullying and abuse.

Bullying and abuse

Liar, selfish, greedy, manipulative, controlling, vulgar, demanding, fake, attention seeker, evil.

I’m relatively sure you read those words and didn’t think they related to Harry because these are tropes people regularly used to speak about women who put their heads above the parapet and use their voices to speak out or don’t fit a particular ideal. These are some of the milder words used to describe Meghan Markle.

The press intrusion on Harry’s life and that of his mother, Princess Diana, has undoubtedly scarred him, but his abuse is not on the same scale. Meghan is played as the villain in the story even though every decision they made, they have made together.

Tabloid intimidation

The tabloids rule by intimidation. They can bring down anyone who doesn’t play their game, including the Royal family.

We can all have an opinion of a celebrity’s character even though we don’t know them, and we must all admit it comes from what we read and see. Companies and governments would not spend millions on advertising and messaging if it didn’t. However, the depth of anger, rage, and negative emotion people genuinely feel and project about Meghan is visceral and deeply personal. What terrible crime has she committed?

Diana shared her similar experience with the Royal family in print and interviews, yet remained the People’s Princess. Prince Andrew embarked on a car crash interview about his relationship with a proven paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. His Pizza Express alibi and reasoning that his accuser Virginia Guthrie must be lying about their relationship because, at the time, he “couldn’t sweat” didn’t bring a wave of tabloid furore or 20 pages of coverage. Many just laughed. And let’s not forget Prince Charles and Camilla’s ‘tampon gate’ scandal`. The Royals are not new to humiliation and shame.

So weird. When #PrincessDiana criticized the royals ad nauseam, she became the world’s favorite woman. Now that #MeghanMarkIe does it, everyone hates her? Gee. I wonder what the difference is between the two.

— Matt Walton (@themattwalton) December 10, 2022

Whatever your feelings of Harry and Meghan, I think it’s important to remember that Prince Andrew paid a woman £12 million pounds to stop calling him a nonce.

— Jonathan Pie (@JonathanPieNews) December 14, 2022

The tabloids and anti-Meghan commentators feed the narrative of the couple craving attention while expressing the view that it is felt by many, ‘Why don’t they shut up and go away’ or ‘they are profiteering off their royalty’. The day after the first Netflix release of Harry and Meghan, where the couple called out the wilful bias and lies of the tabloids, the Daily Mail responded with over 20 pages of negative coverage of the couple. They were very proud, stating, “Our unrivaled coverage of the Sussexes ‘Megflix’ bombshells accumulated more than 60,000 comments in hours”.

It’s a vicious cycle. People complain about them constantly being in the limelight while consuming mass articles and commentary, thus propelling the media to publish more and more.

Daily Mail: the Harry and Meghan Netflix series is such an outrage we have decided not to cover it.
Except on pages: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26, 27…ad infinitum https://t.co/iKsdaTnwrw

— John Cassidy (@JohnCassidy) December 9, 2022

After Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, Meghan did not show herself for 250 days. The media during those days wrote thousands of articles about her. On the first day, The Express alone reported over 50. The tabloids have been cashing in on their lives for years with lies, conjecture and bias. They would keep the couple in the limelight, documentary or not, because there is money in doing so. Now that Harry and Meghan are making money from producing and telling their own story, it is an entirely different matter. How dare they.

Besides the fact that hate sells, why would the tabloids want to destroy Meghan and Harry?

The UK’s tabloids presume that no one, not even the royals, would dare to stand up to them because they have the power to take anyone down. The Sussexes have broken the unspoken contract between the Royals and the tabloids. Harry and Meghan have successfully sued several, and Harry is now part of a new, major legal challenge.

As reported here in Euronews Weekly, a legal challenge, announced in October this year, will see the publisher, Associated Newspapers, sued over articles in the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Mail Online. Among the group suing are Sir Elton John, Prince Harry, Baroness Doreen Lawrence (mother of racially murdered Stephen Lawrence), David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost.

Law firm Hamlins say that the group have “compelling and highly distressing evidence” they have been “victims of abhorrent criminal activity”. Including phone hacking.

In the past, Associated Newspapers have been sued for similar activity by Prince Harry, in whose favour a judge ruled in July. He also accepted an apology and substantial damages from the publisher over false claims in 2021 that he snubbed the Royal Marines after stepping down as a senior royal. The tabloids are angry and want to ensure we are angry on their behalf.

Delivering a speech at the annual Levenson Lecture on press reform, organised by group ‘Hacked Off’, to whom Hugh Grant is associated, Labour MP Chris Bryant said, “This is not normal spontaneous or altruistic hatred … It’s not journalism. It’s a perversion of journalism, and it means, once again, that the press sees people’s lives as a commodity to be traded”.

Shocked. But not surprised.

Media outlets outraged over Meghan and Harry series run wall-to-wall coverage https://t.co/yDxQDsuvfV

— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) December 8, 2022

Manipulation and manufactured hate to make money

In October of 2021, a media report from Bot Sentinel, a Twitter analytics service, began analysing the online hate towards Markle, focusing on Twitter.

Of the hateful posts on Meghan Markle that were examined, 70% came from just 83 accounts. The tweets’ estimated reach was 17 million Twitter users. A “bot network then bolstered these tweets” – hundreds of inauthentic Twitter accounts that amplified the hate and conspiracy. Nine out of ten prominent Twitter accounts of Royal commentators and those who primarily cover the royal family had interacted with at least one of the 84 hate accounts, some containing death threats.

Bot Sentinel followed up with two further reports revealing the activity also spread to monetised YouTube accounts. One channel focusing on anti-Meghan Markle content has reported ties to Markle’s estranged half sister, Samantha Markle. It created a network with two other anti-Meghan channels. These three YouTube channels alone have over 70 million views combined and $495,730 in total YouTube earnings.

Kate vs Meghan – One can do no wrong, the other no right

For years Meghan has been shamed and attacked for the same things for which her sister-in-law, Kate, has been praised. Even if you don’t read or see these tabloid and online headlines, you can be assured others you know do, feeding the cycle of deliberate media gaslighting.

This article compares 20 incidents where hypocrisy shown towards Meghan cannot be ignored. Here are a few examples.

A review of thousands of articles from the 16 years since Prince William and Kate’s relationship became public, shows that constant abuse and harassment from the press gave way to praise once Meghan Markle became a royal.

The royal press office, which can try to kill false or misleading reports, has defended Kate far more than Meghan. One couple is protected because they play the game. The other was thrown to a nation full of wolves with an insatiable taste for red meat and feeding frenzies. The palace press core is also known to ‘swap out’ stories, meaning they will contact the palace with an account; if the palace doesn’t want that story run, they are expected to provide another. Seemingly, Harry and Meghan were prime fodder.

“I was told, because I’m quite critical of the monarchy in many ways, I was told that I could say what I want about #HarryAndMeghan, but I had to lay off of William and Kate. That was the instruction from the editor.”

Norman Baker regularly writes for The Sun & Daily Mail. pic.twitter.com/ypKk60M06q

— R.S. Locke / Royal Suitor (@royal_suitor) December 13, 2022

Enforced reverence and respect

This article only focuses on media manipulation and has not touched on the profoundly complex issues of race, racism and Empire that play into this story. However, there lies in the UK an almost enforced reverence and respect towards the monarchy. To criticise or speak out about them is deemed by many as treasonous. We saw examples of this around the Queen’s funeral, where people were denied the right to free speech. Republicans were arrested for silently holding signs saying ‘not my King.’

Police in Parliament Square threatening to arrest a protester carrying a blank sign if he writes ‘Not my King’ on it as an offence under the Public Order Act. Doesn’t matter where your politics lie, this should alarm you. It’s a peaceful protest. No arrests made for “My King” https://t.co/Vdt5wW4NLF

— Stuzi (@Stuzipants) September 12, 2022

The documentary

Both Harry and Meghan committed to humanitarian causes long before they met. Meghan in 2017 was a global ambassador for World Vision, an advocate for UN Women, and an incredible advocate for gender equality. Together they have committed to mental health charities and fighting racial injustice. It is their career, so why should they not have a chance to tell their side of the story, their truth, considering all these elements exist within it?

Let’s all be honest. The couple could give up every title and move to the ends of the earth, but we all know deep down that nothing they do would stop the media from stalking them and manufacturing stories to sell their bile-filled pages. They are far too profitable.

Every word and action in the documentary will be picked over and analysed to find an element of rage, anywhere, to prove everything you have read is true. So, maybe try putting aside what you have been told to believe and watch the documentary. You may find the main villain is not the Royals themselves but the repulsive system that exists between them and the tabloids. One that must be maintained to ensure the Royals stay in public favour.

Finally, actual analysis from @guardian: “Harry & Meghan have done more reputational damage [to British newspapers] in this Netflix global event than in any single lawsuit” — & the near psychotic press reaction only cements it. https://t.co/2bfFVL8Up6

— . (@TheOtherIndrani) December 14, 2022

Open your mind and heart, and you may hear the love story of a young couple battling against all odds. Against threats to their mental health, against tradition, against expectations, and against a system that is doing everything to destroy them.

If you don’t, at least you have more information than the unchecked bias that has saturated the public domain for years but ask yourself, what is your desired outcome? Some won’t be happy until the couple is hounded to the point of separation or divorce, or one of them is dead, proving once and for all that Meghan was a terrible person, unfit to be a Royal. Would you be one of them?

Of all the dangerous, anti-democratic pieces of legislation brought forward by our government since Brexit, one of the most controversial is the retained EU law (revocation and reform bill (REUL). Better known as the Brexit freedoms bill, the supposed freedoms the bill claims to proffer seem as elusive as any so-called Brexit benefit.

Brexit freedoms bill

The bill was introduced by former prime minister Liz Truss, during her brief stint in Number 10. It is sponsored by staunch Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and is currently making its way through the House of Commons.

So much at stake

The aim of the REUL bill is to replace almost 4,000 EU laws currently on the British statute books. These laws provide protection for a wide range of hard-won protections including workers’ rights, food safety standards, animal welfare, environmental protections and many more.

Although the government has pledged not to lower standards in the process of revoking and reforming EU law, it’s increasingly hard to find anyone who takes that promise at face value. Especially when so many Brexit promises have already proven worthless.

According to the REUL public dashboard, 570 of the EU laws relate to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; 424 to Transport; 374 to the Treasury; 318 to BEIS; 228 to Revenue and Customs and 208 to Work and Pensions. That’s assuming, of course, that these government figures are reliable.

Up until the beginning of November, only 2,400 EU laws had been identified. A further 1,400 laws were recently discovered by government researchers. Although according to Rees-Mogg the additional laws were “ones departments do not use and were dredged up” and, he added, “removing them is simple”.

In his own BEIS department, 77 full-time staff are said to be working on the 318 laws relating to that department alone. Whether the wider government has enough civil servants to handle so many EU laws is another unanswered question.

We need to organise to stop the insanely dangerous Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

That this govt would open up this country to such dangers should see them chased out of office! https://t.co/8YQTtPsezY

— Liz Webster (@LizWebsterLD) December 5, 2022

Businesses already struggling

In a recent survey of company directors by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) there was little understanding of the government’s proposals. Half of those surveyed said deregulation was either a low or non-existent priority, and just 4% claimed to comprehensively understand the bill and its impact on their business.

According to William Bain, head of trade policy at BCC, businesses “are not clamouring for a bonfire of regulations for the sake of it”. He warned that divergence from EU regulations “would add to company costs” at a time when businesses were “already struggling with soaring inflation and other barriers to trade with the EU”.

The fact that businesses are largely critical of the bill is being ignored by government. The party that used to claim to be the defenders of business and the economy, no longer seem to be claiming to protect either. The Tory party are no longer listening. Except to themselves.

World-leading idiocy:

“As part of the Retained EU Law Bill, the UK government is risking scrapping over a thousand laws that protect the environment, including those which protect wild places and wildlife, and ensure minimum standards for water quality and pollution.”

— The Purple Pimpernel (@Eyeswideopen69) December 1, 2022

So much for health and safety

The latest strong criticism came from the British Safety Council. Chief executive Mike Robinson recently wrote that the government seemed “hell-bent” on destroying the UK’s record on health and safety.

While acknowledging there are areas where legislation could be improved, Robinson said there were “big risks involved” with the government’s approach. He drew particular attention to high-risk industries, like construction and chemicals. He expressed concern over the potential replacement of existing protections and with responsibilities being imposed on “duty-holders”. He asked, “are we really going to leave it up to individual businesses to decide for themselves?” I guess that’s one way to interpret “taking back control”.

Robinson stated that the bill must be “changed or scrapped on the basis that it would be too damaging and risky to go ahead”

Not fit for purpose

The bill also gives the government the power to simply ‘switch off’ EU laws at the end of 2023 without consultation with parliament or the public. The so-called ‘sunset clause’ means that any EU legislation still on the books at the end of next year will simply expire. Along with all the protections, rights and standards that any such laws sought to safeguard.

The government’s own independent assessor described government proposals as “not fit for purpose”. With regard to the sunset clause in particular, the watchdog said the government had not provided sufficient grounds for the decision.

The battle isn’t over

Although the REUL bill may have already passed the second reading in the House of Commons, its further passage is not expected to go smoothly. Many amendments are in the pipeline and there is likely to be fierce debate in the House of Lords.

But the battle won’t just take place in the halls of parliament. Opposition is widespread with so many industries and sectors affected. From legal experts to unions, from environmentalists to farmers, from business leaders to economists, from human rights activists to health professionals – the opposition is as far-reaching as the rights that the EU laws protect.

Whether your personal passion is for one affected area – nature, animal welfare, food safety, human rights – or for all of them, this bill is damaging and dangerous. And completely unnecessary. The rights we have to work fewer hours, to eat safe food, to treat animals and the environment with respect and care etc., took many years to agree and to protect by law. We cannot allow this irresponsible government, driven solely by ideology, to undo all that work in one fell swoop.

If the government is successful, we will all pay a terrible price. And it’s one that neither the public, nor the country can afford. EU law is not bad for our health and safety. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of our government.

Dear Prime Minister,

Firstly, my apologies for not writing to you before to congratulate you on your new job. I just thought I’d better hang on for a few weeks to make sure your premiership had a longer shelf-life than your predecessor’s. So, having waited a month, big congrats! Even if you don’t last past the next election, as least you’ll have beaten Dizzy Lizzie’s short spell in office.

I appreciate you must have a great deal on your plate (what multi-millionaire doesn’t?) and that the job is probably a lot more difficult and demanding than you anticipated. Despite that, I hope you think it was worth any sacrifices you may have made. At least your wife hasn’t had to make any, and can always keep you in the style you’ve become accustomed to, no matter what happens in your political career.

With so much going wrong in the country it must be tough to choose where to focus or prioritise your attention and our money. Especially when you have those to the left of you, those to the right of you, and (if there are any) those to the far right of you telling what you absolutely must do, and right now!

Just this week alone I note that you have described relations with China as the end of a “golden era”. Relations with the USA also seem strained, though I’m pleased to see that you and Ursula von der Leyen are making positive noises. Do you know what would really, really improve relations with the EU? Getting rid of that nasty piece of legislation, the Protocol Bill. Though I do appreciate, that with so many nasty pieces of legislation to choose from, it must be difficult to know which bill to ditch first. With so many of them liable to remove rights from the public but likely to give more powers to yourself. I imagine there will be many sleepless nights ahead while the Tory Party gremlins mess with your head.

As a former Chancellor, I had rather expected that you’d have a better understanding of how the UK economy works, or should work. I have to admit, I’m not a fan of ‘Austerity 2.0’, but then I wasn’t a fan of ‘Austerity 1.0’ either. I would be much more inclined to give it a chance if the government hadn’t wasted so much taxpayers’ money on failed PPE contracts, a failed Test & Trace system, a so-called Festival of Brexit, on MPs pay rises and expenses and goodness only knows what else. The very fact that you are now planning to use my/our money to pay for your Christmas parties is just adding insult to grievous injury. Couldn’t your wife treat you all? After all, I assume she’ll be present.

I would like to offer, though, credit where’s it’s due and say thank you for avoiding the annoying habit your two predecessors were so fond of. That of governing by slogan. I am not aware of any Sunak-specific soundbites. I assume that means that there aren’t any. The alternative – that they are so bad as to have gone unnoticed – is hardly preferable.

With regards to how I might be of assistance to you, I understand you are still looking (though perhaps not very hard) for an Ethics Advisor. Despite the downgrading of any powers for the title holder, I’m sure I could offer some interesting, even radical, ideas on the way forward, and frankly, I could use the money! My paltry pension, even with the triple lock retained (thank you kindly) does not stretch far when everything has gotten so much more expensive. Yes, I know, it’s Covid, it’s Ukraine. But, it’s also the dreaded Brexit. Now when even the BBC are discussing widespread Brexit damage, surely it’s time politicians, especially those at the top, did likewise.

The main opposition leader is seemingly trying to be more Brexity than your lot, believing it will win him the next election. With so many Remainer MPs now converts to the Brexit cult, wouldn’t it be novel if a few Brexiter MPs changed their minds too? Not sure I should be pointing this out to you but you could turn public opinion in your favour if you changed tack by promising a return to the Single Market, the Customs Union or, heaven forfend, the EU itself. Of course, you would have the tall order of convincing the country that Tory promises are worth the manifesto they are written on, but I honestly think it’s worth a shot. Beat the opposition to it and get that growing number of Remainers on your side for a change.

I will leave you to ponder how to turn around the fate of your party. I would just like to hope that in the process, you, your cabinet and your government give some thought to turning around the fate of the country. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but SS Britannia is sinking fast and there’s a distinct lack of friendly neighbours willing to rush to our aid. I wish you every success in turning the ship around, and in your goal of returning the Conservative Party to power at some distant decade in the future.

In the meantime, try not to do as much damage as the last three residents of Number 10 have done, and give the nurses, postal workers, train drivers etc. a pay rise. You may think the country can’t afford to do it. In fact, it can’t afford not to.

Yours sincerely,

Sue Wilson MBE

On Tuesday 29 November, the governor of the Bank of England (BoE), Andrew Bailey, gave evidence to the House of Lords economic affairs committee. The oral evidence session with the governor is an annual event and was expected to cover a number of topics, including quantitative easing, financial risks, inflation and the supply of labour, both historically and looking forward.

pic.twitter.com/xYlzQoSdBp

— Lords Economic Affairs Committee (@LordsEconCom) November 29, 2022

Unsurprisingly, there was little good news and lots of talk about the “scale of the external shocks that are hitting the economy”. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, the list of factors affecting the UK economy did not include Brexit. In two hours of discussion and debate, not one single mention. From anyone.

Not a budget

While many factors, such as the war in Ukraine and the pandemic were external contributors to the current economic situation, there were domestic factors too. The most significant of these – if you ignore the government’s general mishandling of the economy, and of course, Brexit – was the disastrous autumn mini-budget.

When committee members referred to the statement as a budget, they were corrected by the governor. It was, in fact, a “fiscal event”, not a budget. Had it been a budget, the Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) – the official fiscal watchdog – would have had to be involved. By labelling the budget a fiscal event, the OBR was left out of the loop completely. Bailey added that the “message that came across”, was that “we didn’t want the OBR involved”.

“The lack of clarity between the former Prime Minister and Chancellor about what was actually going to be in the fiscal statement illustrates the problem. It was not known and it was not clear what was going to be in this statement.”

— Lords Economic Affairs Committee (@LordsEconCom) November 29, 2022

It would appear that the BoE, to a lesser extent, was also kept in the dark. When questioned about whether the bank had been fully informed in advance of the statement, and in particular, whether the bank had received “advance warning of… £46 billion of unfunded tax cuts”, Bailey responded, “we did not know what was going to be in the statement”.

Bailey said that while it was not always necessary to know all the “detailed measures” in advance, the bank would expect to be informed on “the economic impact” of any proposed policy. Many people had described the situation to him, he added, as “flying blind”. The BoE, for example, had had “no idea” that the government had plans to abolish the top rate of tax.

Bailey said there was no doubt in his mind “that Treasury officials told the BoE and me everything they knew”. There was no question of anything “being hidden”, he said. There was, however, a “lack of clarity”, even “between the former prime minister and the chancellor about what was going to be in the fiscal statement.” Which rather, Bailey said, “illustrates the problem”.

Andrew Bailey, Governor of the @bankofengland: “The scale of the external shocks that are hitting the economy and the effect they’re having are coming through as a very big shock to the UK’s real economy…” pic.twitter.com/GmxmDgoUpE

— Lords Economic Affairs Committee (@LordsEconCom) November 29, 2022

External shocks to the system

The governor spoke of the scale of the external factors affecting the economic outlook, describing them as a “very big shock to the UK’s real economy”. In particular, Bailey highlighted the scale of the shock from the energy crisis, which was seen as a “substantial risk” and which was “larger than any single year in the 1970”.

The governor spoke of what he regarded as the three biggest risks to the UK economy. The first of these – the energy price shock coming from Russia and Ukraine – he described as “reasonably stable” in terms of size and force. The second factor, and the earliest, was the post-Covid supply chain shock, which he said was “unwinding”. The third shock, which unlike the first two was heading “the other way”, was food, affected by both domestic and external factors.

The biggest story

According to Bailey, “the biggest story is the labour market”, which is “much more constrained” in Britain than elsewhere. Where other economies – such as the US or the Eurozone – had recovered to pre-Covid levels, the UK was lagging behind. However, Bailey claims that recruitment issues many companies have been facing are now gradually starting to ease with the ratio of vacancies to unemployment stabilising, albeit at a high level.

The BoE, said Bailey, has been saying for over a year that there was “a very big real income shock” coming and that the consequences of that blow need to be dealt with. It seemed to be widely accepted that this was due to a “change in the terms of trade”. The impact of the real income shock is one being felt by the public who, apparently, are failing to understand why they can’t be paid in line with inflation. The risk, said Bailey, is coming from second-hand effects – caused by “constraint in labour supply”, “wage-bargaining” and “price-setting” – which would require the BoE to further raise inflation.

Whatever our economic future holds, it seems clear that the British economy is not in a healthy state or, perhaps, in the safest of hands. While so many in Westminster fail to acknowledge a significant cause of our present economic situation, it’s difficult to see how our finances can or will improve.

During the course of the committee meeting, the governor at one point complained that “quite a bit of the commentary” regarding the British economy “pretends that Covid never happened”. That may well be the case. Yet the bank and the government continue to pretend that Brexit never happened. Thankfully, the public, and increasingly the press, are joining the dots. It would be helpful if those in charge of running the economy effectively did likewise.