Nick Thomas-Symonds, the European affairs minister, said Reform UK's plans to withdraw from the emissions trading system and a food and drink agreement could cost the UK economy up to £9bn annually by 2040, according to The Independent. Thomas-Symonds described the potential impact as risking higher prices and jobs, The Independent reported. He also said Reform UK would tear up the settled status deal for EU citizens, which could lead to a trade war, according to The Independent.
A Reform UK spokesperson accused Labour of 'scaremongering' and said the idea of a trade war was 'ridiculous', according to The Independent. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice defended the party's welfare stance, saying welfare should support those who have paid into it, The Independent reported. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to warn that Reform UK's immigration policies would tear up the settled status deal, according to The Independent.
If you think that Boris Johnson left us with a bad deal, think about what Nigel Farage would do in power.
Reform UK performed strongly in local elections across the country, according to multiple reports. The Office for Budget Responsibility said Brexit will cost 4% of GDP in the long term, according to multiple sources. Campaign group Best for Britain claimed Brexit damage of between £180bn and £240bn so far, according to multiple reports.
More than half of Britons now support rejoining the EU, according to Best for Britain polling. However, Reform UK's strong local election performance suggests the public remains unconvinced about the merits of the EU. The Resolution Foundation recommended Britain negotiate a return to a single market for goods with the EU, according to multiple reports.
We know that the emissions trading system and the food and drink agreement together are worth, you know, up to £9bn pounds a year to the economy by 2040 and he's already said he would take that away.
Labour's manifesto expressly rules out rejoining the single market, according to multiple sources. Nick Thomas-Symonds said a future Labour government would not seek to rejoin the EU or a customs union, according to multiple reports. Fred de Fossard, Director of Strategy at the Prosperity Institute, cautioned against returning to the EU customs union, calling it 'toxic', according to multiple reports.
US ambassador Warren Stephens warned that Britain adopting over 70 European rules could be a problem for UK-US trade, according to multiple reports. Stephens said closer UK-EU ties will not be viewed favourably in Washington if they affect the UK-US trading relationship, according to multiple reports. He also urged the UK to reopen the North Sea for oil drilling, according to multiple reports, and said high energy costs are discouraging investment into Britain, according to multiple reports.
Farage is also talking about taking all welfare support away from EU settled citizens. Frankly with that we probably would end up with us in some sort of trade war with the EU. That really isn't what we need.
Donald Trump condemned Starmer as 'no Winston Churchill' after Starmer refused to let US military launch attacks on Iran from British bases, according to multiple reports.
Think as well of the progress we've been making recently, working constructively with the EU, on the 'Made in Europe' agenda to make sure, to try to make sure there's no additional trade barriers being erected, Nigel Farage would put all that at risk.
It would, because trade with the EU is so much bigger, over to about £800bn worth of trade a year. What does that mean? It means risking prices in the shops going up. It means putting jobs at risk. These are not things that are in our national interest, that's not a serious policy.
Reform UK believes the welfare system should support those who have paid into it, not act as an open-ended entitlement. The idea that putting British taxpayers first would somehow spark a trade war with the EU is ridiculous.
Why would you want to handcuff yourself ever closer to any failing economic model? It's the last thing in the world we should be doing.