Dear John,

Yesterday was St Andrew’s Day.

St Andrew is the patron saint of fisherman and Scotland - and there’s big news from both camps.

Nicola Sturgeon has announced every primary school student in Scotland will receive free school meals. Whether or not this announcement helps her re-election chances, it is in stark contrast to Boris Johnson’s forced U-turn on providing meals over the holidays. 

The First Minister also announced a £100 payment for parents of kids on free school meals to help over this particularly challenging Christmas. 

And challenging it will be. The government has released an economic impact assessment of the tiered coronavirus lockdowns. By the government’s own estimates, these restrictions will cut UK economic output by up to 12%.

If the government is prepared to freeze public pay to save the economy, it should be prepared to concede on fishing and strike a deal with Europe. Sources say fishing remains a key sticking point in negotiations, while there has been progress on areas like state aid and the level playing field. 

Send a message to your MP, and ask them to push for a deal, and be ready to scrutinise any deal that is put in front of them. If you have a Labour MP, it’s all the more crucial you urge them to abstain from voting for a deal which would be strip away rights and not aid the UK's recovery. There are just weeks left until the end of the year, and the UK leaves the transition period with or without a deal. Send your message now.

To add a no-deal Brexit, or an insubstantial deal, to this economic crisis would be madness. To hold up negotiations for a minor industry like fishing, whilst throwing all other sectors under the bus, is even madder. Unless a deal is struck in time, there could be an even more financially ruinous end to the year. 

While parts of the economy might bounce back relatively quickly if we get a vaccine by Spring, the long-term pain of failing to secure a trade deal would remain.

As Best for Britain’s report clearly shows, certain regions of the UK will be severely hit by a no deal or thin deal end to the transition period.

That, combined with the immediate economic impact of COVID, represents the worst of both worlds. We will be in for a double whammy hit this Christmas.

Send a message to your MP, and urge them to use their influence to push for a deal with Europe.

While COVID lockdowns are justifiable, there is no justification for a no-deal Brexit, and no reason to add to our economic misery this Christmas.

The government must put its duty of care towards the British people above ideological concerns.

Best wishes,

Cary Mitchell,
Director of Operations, Best for Britain