The Telegraph claims Brexit has been successful, however its readers disagree

June 23 marked eight years because the referendum, which noticed Britain narrowly vote in favour to depart the European Union. To watch the milestone, the pro-Brexit newspapers got here out in drive, devoted op-eds and columns to obvious Brexit advantages.

A Telegraph View piece entitled ‘Brexit is working’ argued that the vote to depart was the precise determination eight years in the past and is the precise determination now. The article affords little by way of why it was the precise determination, apart from the commerce offers which were signed with Australia and New Zealand, which, in accordance with the report, “wouldn’t have been attainable whereas we have been nonetheless a member of the EU.”

The post-Brexit commerce offers with the 2 nations have been negotiated by Liz Truss throughout her time as commerce secretary. They’ve been lauded as “historic” by the federal government however have prompted criticism. One criticism is that the offers are one-sided and particularly disadvantageous to British farmers. The federal government’s personal calculations forecast that the take care of Australia can have a negligible long-term contribution to the UK economic system, predicting it can enhance GDP by simply 0.08 p.c by 2035.

George Eustice, who was atmosphere secretary when the commerce pact with Australia was struck in December 2021, admitted that it was “not truly an excellent deal” for Britain. Eustice, an ardent Brexiteer, criticised the settlement for giving too many concessions to Australian and New Zealand farmers.  “General the reality of the matter is that the UK gave away far an excessive amount of for a lot too little in return,” he told the House of Commons.

The deal was additionally criticised on account of Australia’s report on environmental points. The Commerce Justice Motion labelled the deal as a “catastrophe for UK local weather coverage.”

“The UK has simply signed a commerce take care of Australia, a rustic with one of many world’s worst data on tackling local weather change,” it wrote.

To make additional mockery of the Telegraph’s Brexit is working claims, evaluation printed this month by the London Faculty of Economics, discovered that 20,000 small companies had stopped exporting to the EU on account of crimson tape created by the UK’s exit from the bloc’s single market.

Shevaun Haviland, chief govt of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), has urged the winner of the final election to deepen the present EU-UK commerce and cooperation settlement to spice up financial progress.

“We have to cease strolling on eggshells and begin telling it like it’s. The present plan is just not working for our members,” she instructed the group’s annual worldwide convention in London.

As evaluation repeatedly finds Brexit’s failings, readers have been fast to share criticism of the Telegraph’s ‘Brexit is working’ article.

One X consumer described the article as “propaganda about Brexit.” One other mentioned they wished we had a extra regulated media, saying: “Lies like this shouldn’t be allowed to go unchallenged.”

One reader wrote: “One other deceptive article claiming Brexit is just not a failure. How is: lack of ability to freely journey in Europe; shortages of medicines; meals scarcity and so on., indicators that Brexit is working – put your glasses on.”

“It’s tough to learn such a pile of nonsense,” was one other remark.

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Ahead

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