THE European Union has recently issued “be prepared” warnings to all UK businesses as it contemplates a potential no-deal Brexit. This is the starkest warning yet about the devastating impact that a Conservative-led, Labour-approved “red, white and blue jobs-first hard Brexit” will have. A “no deal” Brexit, in a Panglossian paradigm shift, is the worst of all possible worlds. And Professor Pangloss himself, Jeremy Corbyn, continues to cultivate his own little garden with optimistic thoughts of becoming the post-apolcal-Brexit Prime Minister.
When Mr Corbyn states that being out of the EU also means being out of the single market, conveniently ignoring the existence of countries like Norway and Switzerland, it is obvious his focus is on extracting the UK from the EU in the most drastic of fashions – no doubt in the hope of “success” at the next General Election. It almost seems like Mr Corbyn and his frontbench hierarchy are gleefully looking forward to becoming the overlords of a thoroughly impoverished Little Britain. The leader of the Labour party even ignored the recent cross-party leader talks on efforts to save Scotland’s place in the single market.
The Labour Party are not only ignoring cross-party talks to oppose the Tory’s hard Brexit policy but, with their own incoherent Brexit policy, are ignoring the fact that businesses in around 15 economic sectors which rely on operating licences have been warned by Brussels that they should be prepared to lose the automatic right to operate in Europe. The warnings from Brussels state that the UK would become “a third country” after Brexit and operating licences would lapse. Simply put, the EU has advised businesses in all four nations of the UK that they may have to set up EU premises in order to avoid disruption to any part of their business.
The elephant in the room? If businesses, in order to survive, have to set up shop in a member state of the European Union, why then should they continue to invest money and manpower in any constituent part the United Kingdom? What then happens to Labour’s “jobs first” and other such colourful soundbites? Like the proverbial rats, it’ll be jobs first to desert a sinking ship.
Every day it is becoming more and more apparent that being in the customs union and the single market is the only way to protect jobs and household incomes across Scotland. There is no “red, white and blue jobs-first Brexit”. There is only Brexit – economic chaos borne entirely of British exceptionalism and Westminster incompetence.
Mark Saunders
Port Glasgow
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