Dear John,

Trade in services with Europe continues to freefall

The City of London reported a £3.2 trillion Brexit loss in one month, just in the derivatives market.

And ONS reported the double whammy of Brexit and COVID caused the UK economy to shrink by 8.7% – almost double the shrinkage in France.

This morning, the UK Trade and Business Commission will hear evidence from experts and business leaders on the crisis facing the financial services industry, which employs 1.1 million people across the UK. You can watch the session live from 10:15 AM on YouTube here.

But we need your help to make the Commission truly impactful.

Write to your MP, and ask them to work the UK Trade and Business Commission. We need to find practical solutions to improve the Government’s threadbare deal, and start bouncing back from the double whammy of COVID and Brexit.

Yesterday Brexit Minister David Frost described the Northern Ireland Protocol as “unsustainable” – the same agreement which he drafted and signed.

At the last Trade and Business Commission session, we heard about the challenges faced by Northern Ireland businesses, particularly in the food and drink sector.

Yet UK ruled out alignment on food standards with the EU, which would get rid of 90% of documentary checks and 98% of physical checks conducted at the Northern Ireland border.

It is vital the Government listens to business leaders and representatives – otherwise they will keep making these mistakes and coming up with “unsustainable” solutions. Write to your MP this morning, and tell them to cooperate with the Trade Commission in scrutinising the impacts of Brexit.

Trade services, which make up as much as four fifths of the UK economy, are suffering, as they simply weren't included in the Government’s thin trade deal.

Yet it serves their narrative to ignore this and the moderate recovery of trade in goods with the EU. If you don’t admit there is a problem, you cannot start to fix it.

We must force the Government to confront reality, and hold them accountable for their own mess.

Best wishes,

Naomi Smith,
CEO, Best for Britain

PS. If you want to be part of holding the Government to account – on democracy and climate policy, as well as the economy – consider becoming a regular donor. Find out more here.