This Government has no merit at all

Dear Sir,

In your edition dated 18th January, you kindly published my letter calling for David Davis, the Brexit secretary of state, to be sacked for misleading Parliament after advising that there were no systematic impact assessments on leaving the EU, when previously Mr Davis had stated on numerous occasions that there were detailed impact assessments.

Now we discover, after the details of the impact assessments had been leaked to BuzzFeed that in fact before 5th December Mr Davis was telling the truth: there were detailed impact assessments.

However, what Mr Davis did not tell us was that the impact assessments were reporting to the Government loud and clear that the adverse economic implications for the UK if it left the EU will be truly terrible.

The assessments leaked to BuzzFeed News revealed that a soft Brexit, in which the UK remained in the single market, would result in a 2% smaller GDP, equating to a GDP reduced in size by £39bn per year, with the loss of 700,000 jobs. A hard Brexit, in which the UK would be outside the single market and customs union, would result in a 5% smaller GDP, equating to a GDP reduced in size by £99bn per year and the loss of 1,750,000 jobs.

A no-deal Brexit would result in a 8% smaller GDP, equating to a GDP reduced in size by £158bn a year and the loss of 2,800,000 jobs.

Then, at long last, with the release of this information, the Government's justice minister Philip Lee, wrote what should be obvious to all: "If these fi gures turn out to be anywhere near right, there would be a serious question over whether a government could legitimately lead a country along a path that the evidence and rational consideration indicate would be damaging. We must act for our country's best interests, not ideology and populism, or history will judge us harshly. Our country deserves no less."

Instead of this truth written by Philip Lee being accepted by the Tories, the unfortunate Mr Lee is hauled before the chief whip and disciplined, whereas ministers such as Boris Johnson, who are driving our country at full speed to one of the two worst scenarios of either a hard Brexit or no Brexit, trampling all over our supine prime minister at a horrifi c cost to our country, go unpunished.

This Government, by heading for a hard Brexit or a no Brexit, is putting party dogma above the long-term interests of this country's people and future generations and therefore this is a Government without any merit whatsoever.

Now yesterday detailed analysis of the economic impact of Brexit by region was released and the implications for the North West are even more horrifi c than the national average.

Figures detailed above with a soft Brexit resulting in a GDP reduced in size by 2.5%, a hard Brexit resulting in a GDP reduced by 8% and a no deal resulted in a GDP reduced in size by 12%.

We must ask all our Conservative members of Parliament in the North West: are you going to stand shoulder to shoulder with Philip Lee on the fi rm ground of common sense or are you going to put your party's dogma above the long-term interests of your constituents, their children and their grandchildren?

Yours faithfully,

ROBERT DOUGLAS

Brereton