Dear John,

An economic nose-dive not seen for three centuries.

Yesterday’s Spending Review uncovered the dire economic health of this country.

There will be a pay freeze for the firefighters, teachers and social workers who’ve worked so hard to keep us going through two national lockdowns. Universal Credit will be slashed next year, while unemployment is set to reach 2.5 million.

Yes, hard decisions must be made. But the government has not kept its side of the bargain. It has not made the meaningful concessions needed to secure a comprehensive trade deal with Europe.

A no deal exit to the transition period, and the tariffs that come with it, would severely slow our economic recovery. Thanks to the Internal Market Bill, a no deal would also wreck our chance to strike a trade deal with President-elect Joe Biden.

All the Chancellor's measures to support jobs and boost the economy will be undone by a no deal. Next Tuesday is the self-imposed deadline to reach a deal. Write to the Prime Minister, and urge him to make meaningful concessions and reach an agreement before time runs out.

The Spending Review coincided with a confidential Cabinet briefing, which warned of a “systemic economic crisis” as the UK completes its exit from the European Union in the middle of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

As flooding, winter pressures on the NHS and COVID coalesce with a hard Brexit, our economic troubles will accelerate. Stockpiles built up last year have been depleted. The document warned of an oncoming mental health crisis and increased community tensions.

The impact of Brexit will not be masked by COVID. Instead, each crisis will come together to cut further and deeper into our economic health.
 
In this climate, it would be utter madness to inflict a no-deal Brexit on Britain. The secret briefing shows the government is fully aware of the danger we now face.

As they inflict harsh fiscal measures on ordinary people, why are they not doing their part to avert another crisis and reach the deal with Europe we need?

We have just days left to reach a deal. Write to the Prime Minister now, and call on him to make the concessions needed to secure a deal with Europe.  

We’ve seen many Brexit deadlines come and go. But there is one, 31 December, that cannot be ignored. By refusing to extend transition, our government has already ensured that deadline is immovable.

They now have a choice: reach a deal by the end of the year or oversee a systemic economic catastrophe of their own making. Join me in fighting for the right choice.

Best wishes,

Naomi Smith, 
CEO, Best for Britain