Advantages of Brexit so far

[Carana]

Anyone else interested in (substantiated) views as to how Brexit has benefited the UK?

[barrier]

Anyone else interested in (substantiated) views as to how Brexit has benefited the UK?

Its difficult to see how we've benefited by brexit  or how we would be better off still in the EU , is there something specific to brexit which sets it apart from still being in the eu ?

[Venturi Swirl]

Presumably we don't have to shell out £350m a day or a week or whatever it was to be members, so that's one thing....

[barrier]

Presumably we don't have to shell out £350m a day or a week or whatever it was to be members, so that's one thing....

We still owe it seems.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/51110096

[Venturi Swirl]

We still owe it seems.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/51110096

D’oh!  Well that’s me fresh out of Brexit advantages then.

[Carana]

There never was a supposed £350m a week cost. It was actually between £150- £175m.

To a certain extent, the cost of Covid is likely to still muddy the waters for a while, both in terms of real costs and the scapegoat effect.



Impact of Brexit on economy 'worse than Covid'

Published

    27 October

Richard Hughes, chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

The impact of Brexit on the UK economy will be worse in the long run compared to the coronavirus pandemic, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility has said.

Richard Hughes said leaving the EU would reduce the UK's potential GDP by about 4% in the long term.

He said forecasts showed the pandemic would reduce GDP "by a further 2%".

"In the long term it is the case that Brexit has a bigger impact than the pandemic", he told the BBC.

His comments come after the OBR said the cost of living could rise at its fastest rate for 30 years, with suggestions inflation could hit almost 5%.

Speaking after Wednesday's Budget, Mr Hughes said recent data showed the impact of Brexit was "broadly consistent" with the OBR's assumption that the leaving the EU would "reduce our long run GDP by around 4%".

"We think that the effect of the pandemic will reduce that (GDP) output by a further 2%," he added.

The Treasury has been contacted for comment.

    What is GDP and how is it measured?

GDP or Gross Domestic Product is one of the most important ways of showing how well, or badly, an economy is doing. It is a measure - or an attempt to measure - all the activity of companies, governments and individuals in an economy.

In a growing economy, quarterly GDP will be slightly higher than the quarter before, a sign that people are doing more work and getting (on average) a little bit richer. If GDP is falling, then the economy is shrinking.

The UK voted to leave the EU in 2016 and officially left the trading bloc on 31 January 2020, however, both sides agreed to keep many things the same until 31 December 2020, before a new trade deal was announced and implemented on 1 January this year.
Supply chain problems

Both the pandemic and Brexit have played a part in current supply chain issues across the UK, and have further exposed the scarcity of lorry drivers, which has resulted in recent shortages of products for businesses and some empty shelves for customers.

However, in the OBR's latest report, the independent body said "supply bottlenecks had been exacerbated by changes in the migration and trading regimes following Brexit".

Supply chain issues has led to the government granting short-term visas to EU workers across certain sectors, including the haulage industry.

The British Poultry Council has said turkey farmers will do their best to ensure Christmas "is as normal as it can be", but warned shortages are likely, due to a shortage of seasonal overseas workers.

The government has assured consumers that turkeys will be available for the festive season and has also deployed temporary visas in a bid to bolster worker numbers.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59070020


(Published in September 2021)
Brexit trade barriers added £600m in costs to UK importers this year
This article is more than 1 month old

Customs duties rose to record £2.2bn in first six months since trade deal came into effect on 1 January
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/13/brexit-trade-barriers-added-600m-in-costs-to-uk-importers-this-year

[Carana]

On security (as in "taking back control of our borders"):


Analysis
Brexit: Britain will be less secure without access to shared data

Finding a substitute for groups like Europol will be a challenge, says Sky's Alistair Bunkall.
Alistair Bunkall - Defence correspondent

Thursday 24 December 2020 23:26, UK


There could never have been a deal that would fully replicate or replace the shared security mechanisms enjoyed by members of the EU.

Today's deal confirms the UK will automatically forfeit its membership of Europol, Eurojust, the European Arrest Warrant and real-time sensitive data-sharing agreements such as the Schengen Information System (SIS2) when the UK exits the transition period on 1 January.

https://news.sky.com/story/brexit-britain-will-be-less-secure-without-access-to-shared-data-12172399


That was back in December... However, it would now seem that there is a temporary "extension" on access to certain EU databases, although that is conditional on an evaluation of data protection laws, which is already overdue.

Policing: EU and UK to extend post-Brexit biometric data exchange agreement

27 September 2021

The EU and UK are to extend the application of rules that allow the cross-border searching and exchange of DNA and fingerprint data by law enforcement authorities, pending an evaluation of the UK’s data protection rules, which must take place by the end of June next year.
https://www.statewatch.org/news/2021/september/policing-eu-and-uk-to-extend-post-brexit-biometric-data-exchange-agreement/

From a different article, and from memory, the UK may still be able to request information on a case-by-case basis (eg a request for a potential DNA match), but the process would take hours instead of seconds.

[Carana]

Goods transport:

Supply crisis: just 27 fuel tanker drivers from EU apply for emergency visas
Oliver Wright, Policy Editor | David Brown | Will Humphries
Tuesday October 05 2021, 12.00am BST, The Times
Members of the military, who have been training with the logistics company Hoyer in Essex, arrive at the Buncefield oil depot in Hemel Hempstead

BEN CAWTHRA/LNP; JOE GIDDENS/PA WIRE

Only 27 fuel tanker drivers from the EU have applied to work in Britain under the government’s emergency scheme to tackle the petrol crisis, ministers have been told.

It means only a fraction of the 300 visas available for HGV drivers in the fuel industry are set to be taken up in a setback to efforts to replenish supplies.

The failure to identify more drivers has infuriated Downing Street after it agreed to the demand by oil companies to fast-track applications.

The figure calls into question wider plans to recruit a further 4,700 haulage drivers from later this month to alleviate the pressure on deliveries before Christmas. They will be issued work visas lasting until March.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/supply-crisis-military-moves-in-with-tanker-deliveries-to-petrol-stations-d00gls0bc

From what I've been able to glean, this isn't just a Brexit issue, as Covid has also been a factor (driving lessons, tests postponed, etc), but that has also been an issue in other countries applying strict Covid rules. However, I didn't come across any empty shelves in the 3 EU countries I recently visited.

Again from memory of a survey of HGV drivers (or the association?), 20% ticked the Brexit boy (I thought it might have been higher). Other reasons given were: nearing retirement, Covid... and a few other reasons.

In one clip I watched, a young guy who'd been invited to apply, but turned it down due to working conditions for what he perceived as a low salary: (too much time away from a young family), Covid and Brexit hassles, and unsanitary amenities along the way.

[Carana]

I haven't even mentioned the NI protocol....

[Carana]

Oooohhh, I think I may have found one:

From the Telegraph:

Working mothers can fill vacancies at abattoirs left by European exodus, says George Eustice.

https://twitter.com/nicktolhurst/status/1462667716616146947

[Carana]

So the UK now wants only highly qualified immigrants, while UK mothers can look forward to fitting in slaughtering a few dozen turkeys between school runs. I don't remember seeing that one the side of a bus...

[Carana]

Wasn't curbing migration ("taking back control of our borders") a major selling point?

Now that Brexit has been "done", there are now 3 times as many turning up in dinghies.

https://twitter.com/EU_NO_MORE/status/1461769891585961995/photo/1

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59369179

https://ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/migrant-crossings-on-the-english-channel/

[Venturi Swirl]

My take on it is that none of this really matters to anyone who voted for Brexit, they simply don’t care about anything apart from that they won, and they were able to shove two fingers up to the EU.  Life in this country will certainly be no better now IMO, and all the signs are it will get much worse.  The pandemic will be blamed for most of these ills so in a way those who advocated for Brexit must be counting their blessings that it came along as a convenient excuse to deflect from the problems caused by leaving the EU.

[Carana]

I notice that this thread attracts almost as much attention as one of the few others that I actually started... something to do with a list of what Amaral got right. :)

[Wonderfulspam]

I voted Brexit because I'm racist & oppose liberalism.

So for me I've got what I voted for, Britain is now more racist, & liberals are still upset by Brexit.

Anything beyond that is irrelevant to me.