REMEMBER those questions in your exams which said “compare and contrast”? How about this one.

Compare and contrast the statement by Jacob Rees-Mogg – who has said that leaving the EU would deliver a £80 billion boost to the economy, boost exports and lower prices – and the analysis by accountancy firm KPMG, who have pointed out that growth since the Brexit vote has already reduced to 1.3%, the lowest since the financial crash of 2008, and which is likely to reduce further to only 0.6% in 2019 and 0.3% in 2020 if there is the hard Brexit which Rees-Mogg demands.

The interest rate rises necessary to tackle inflation caused by the reduction in the value of the pound are already increasing the prices of all our imported goods and the cost of lending has increased, increases which are not reflected in the value of our pensions and other index linked products. So where will this £80bn windfall come from? Guess whose opinion I trust!

Pete Rowberry
Duns

READ MORE: Letters: What right has Jacob Rees-Mogg to deny us indyref2?​