Is Growth really the main priority?

Since coming into power Labour have repeatedly said that economic growth is their primary mission. It gets mentioned in almost every policy statement. Regulators are told to ensure they facilitate growth, our Chancellor goes to China claiming trade with them is key to growth

But is it really true that no stone will be left un-turned seeking to grow our economy?

A recent study by the London School of Economics has found that the trade deal negotiated by the Conservatives as part of Brexit reduced total goods exports from the UK by an estimated £27bn (or 6.4 per cent) in 2022 – due to a 13.2 per cent fall in the value of goods exported to the EU. Some 14 per cent of firms (around 16,400 firms) that had previously exported to the EU stopped doing so after the TCA came into force in January 2021.

That is why a speech by our leader Ed Davey is so important. In it he said

“The UK must be far more positive, far more ambitious, and act with far more urgency. That is why, today, I am calling on the Government to negotiate a brand-new deal with the EU this year.

“Not just tinkering around the edges of the botched deal the Conservatives signed four years ago. But negotiating a much better deal for Britain, that has at its heart a new UK-EU Customs Union, to come into force by twenty-thirty at the latest.

“Forming a Customs Union with the EU is not only the single biggest thing we can do to turbocharge our economy in the medium and long term. But an agreement to work towards one would unlock big economic benefits for the UK now and start tearing down those damaging Conservative trade barriers this year. It would be a win-win for our country, and I still can’t understand why the Government continues to rule it out.”

Inevitably Conservatives have accused him of wanting to undo the Brexit referendum result but this seems to miss the point that countries such as Turkey, Norway and Switzerland who are not members of the EU have agreed must freer trading relationships with the EU that the UK has. In a speech last week the Conservative leader was candid enough to admit “We were making announcements without proper plans. We announced that we would leave the European Union before we had a plan for growth outside the EU.”

So its a bit rich complaining about a constructive proposal to boost trade and growth with that track record!

What the Liberal Democrats have done is be explicit that we need to make trading with our nearest and biggest market simpler and easier. With threats of new tariffs on trade being made by the Trump administration it really is a no-brainer that we need to re-set our relationship with the EU