Who won Brexit?
Two new pieces of information tell us a lot about who won the Brexit battle. Neither is quite a fact, as for one the data is not conclusively clear and the second has not been confirmed. Still the news that up to 1.3 million foreign workers seem to have left the UK and that the Government is planning to row back on EU employment rights are interesting.
The first, which will be cheered by many Brexit supporters, is an economic hit that the economy can ill afford. The UK needs foreign workers and they were of great benefit to the economy, many people who voted for Brexit did so because they believed the opposite but this is bad news for them and the rest of the country.
The news that the Government’s first attempt to slash EU red tape involves cutting workers rights should not be a surprise, it was the libertarian right that fought for Brexit for years, this is their dream come true. The fact that if it creates an unfair advantage for the UK it will mean tariffs on UK exports will doubtless be a price worth paying.
It is difficult to see how either of these will help level up the economy or help the left behind. But if they make the ERG happy they will have succeeded. They won, this is the Britain they want and this is just the start.
https://jonty.substack.com/