INSIDE BUSINESS

Cheers, Nigel! Brexit pain is getting worse – and shoppers will pay the price

A raucous celebration of Farage fans shows Britain is still in denial about the huge cost of leaving the EU, says Chris Blackhurst

Friday 05 April 2024 11:20 EDT
Comments
Nigel Farage at his birthday party with Aaron Banks and finger-flipping ex-minister Andrea Jenkyns
Nigel Farage at his birthday party with Aaron Banks and finger-flipping ex-minister Andrea Jenkyns (@andreajenkyns/Twitter)

At Nigel Farage’s 60th birthday party this week, 200 guests watched a surprise video message from Donald Trump.

“You’re a historic figure as a prophetic leader and I know that the people of the UK are grateful for your patriotism and service,” Trump proclaimed. “In fact. I’m very much looking forward to watching what your next move is gonna be, it’s gonna be an interesting one.”

The crowd, which included ex-prime minister Liz Truss, roared approval as Trump signed off: “You’re not done yet and hopefully the best is yet to come, so Nigel: enjoy this day. Congratulations on a truly remarkable 60 years on this Earth, your achievements have been incredible – happy birthday!”

The Brexit campaigner’s celebration took place at Boisdale in Canary Wharf. If Farage and his acolytes had taken the time beforehand, they could have quizzed the inhabitants of the financial district on the advantages to the City of exiting the EU.

They would not have needed long, the conversations would have been short. The answer is “none”. If they’d asked instead about the disadvantages brought about by Farage’s anti-EU crusade, they might have missed the bash altogether.

Equity trading of EU stocks has moved to Amsterdam. London volumes are lower than those of Paris. IPOs are going elsewhere – to European centres, and the US. Senior banking roles are slipping away from London, to the Continent. EU rules on bank risk are tightening, requiring managers to be in situ, not outside the EU.

There is a strong feeling that, having gone from leading the banking world and competing head-to-head with New York, the City’s hold is weakening. Britain was once a major player within a substantial bloc; now, it’s apart, isolated, forced to look on as the still-substantial bloc exercises influence and sets new finance industry standards.

Lamentable, too, has been the failure of the government to seize the initiative, to set London on a pedestal, to drive changes, relax the rules that do not matter so much and impinge, do everything required to push the City forward.

For that, read the country as a whole. Farage and Truss, along with the comedian Jim Davidson,  were carousing away as elsewhere the news was sinking in that small imports of EU food products, such as fish, salami, sausage, cheese and yoghurt will be subject to fees of up to £145 from 30 April.

Industry body, the Cold Chain Federation, said the new charges were bound to affect food prices. They would have to be passed on to “either the EU importer, the smaller UK retailer, or the UK consumer”.

The government’s explanation was that the levy would pay for “world-class border facilities” at the main EU-facing ports of Dover and Folkestone, such as increased inspections and new biosecurity buildings.

Even by the standards of the Rishi Sunak administration, this is going some. To say it’s brazen does not do it justice.

The fees are Brexit fees, pure and simple. Without Brexit there would be no need for the increased security and testing and the “world-class facilities”. Brexit creates this need, which means higher prices at Britain’s deli counters.

Claiming it is somehow new and positive is entirely reminiscent of the trumpeted post-EU trade deals. Ministers have travelled the world negotiating pacts under which we take some of their products without duty, while they take some of ours.

Not only does small print reveal the items are not exactly economically transformative – the agreement with Japan sees them get British tea, biscuits and jams in return for electronics –  but many of them are essentially replacing previous deals with the EU. They’re known in the jargon as “rollovers”: the terms of the previous deal with the EU are rolled over into separate ones for each country. Some involve nations with which the UK does little trade. As for the supposed landmark trans-Pacific deal, which is new, this “first for the UK” will add just 0.04 per cent to Britain’s GDP. Of the much-vaunted pacts with India and the US, there is still little sign.

Brexit will cost the UK economy £100bn, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.  This, of course, was not mentioned at the Farage party. Though it isn’t being said much anywhere.

Brexit has slipped into the past. It’s a historic shift, a major constitutional upheaval in Britain, the most significant episode in foreign policy since Suez. It’s not publicly discussed, not debated, rarely mentioned.

Whenever it is raised, the response is usually “move on, it’s done, dusted, we’re not revisiting”. That’s the general media view, which holds that Britain is tired of discussing it. But a large slice of the media was actively promoting Brexit; it clings to the belief Brexit is a success but, when challenged, isn’t keen to get involved.

Brexiteers maintain it is a triumph but they’re not prepared to engage in detailed debate. They dance at parties, they venerate Farage, and applaud Trump’s verdict, but they don’t welcome interrogation.

Most disappointing is the attitude of the Labour hierarchy, which is also reluctant to raise the B-word. During the referendum campaign, its stance was consistently opaque and that’s how it has remained. Far easier for Sir Keir Starmer to focus on NHS waiting lists than go back over old ground.

That’s the prevailing view. Socially, hosts would rather sweep away former divisions and forget about them for the sake of avoiding an argument.

Except it’s not old ground, and the divisions have not gone away. The downsides are very much with us and there for all to see. As are the Brexit promoters.

We urgently need to focus on where we’re heading: that, having committed economic hara-kiri, we must find a profitable way forward. It may involve close relations with the EU, or some semblance of return. Whatever.

What we can’t do is carry on, in denial, exaggerating developments as exciting, beneficial innovations when they’re not.

Happy birthday, Nigel. Thank you for the fine mess you’ve got us into.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in