Fix Brexit damage as top priority, business chief tells Burnham
British Chambers of Commerce head Shevaun Haviland says the UK's EU trading relationship is not working for business and welcomes Andy Burnham reopening the debate.
At a glance
- BCC director general Shevaun Haviland says fixing Brexit's economic damage should be Andy Burnham's top priority.
- More than half of bosses surveyed by the BCC said the 2021 UK-EU trade deal was not helping them.
- Economists estimate Brexit has cost the UK up to £240bn, with income per head 6% to 8% lower.
Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), has said repairing the economic damage caused by Brexit should be the top priority for Andy Burnham as he reconsiders Labour's red lines on EU membership. Speaking to the Guardian in Norwich, she welcomed the prime minister's move to reopen the Brexit debate even though it may create uncertainty, arguing the current trading relationship with the EU is bad for business.
"We do think it's right, because of what we know from the evidence of how businesses feel it's not working," Haviland said.
Business survey findings
More than half of the company bosses surveyed by the BCC said the deal negotiated by Boris Johnson's government and brought into effect in 2021 was not helping them. Haviland said firms had expected the early period to be difficult while they adjusted to new rules, and then for things to become easier, but that this had not happened.
Economists estimate Brexit has cost the UK economy as much as £240bn so far, with national income per head between 6% and 8% lower than it would have been outside the EU. The Office for Budget Responsibility puts the long-term hit at about 4% of gross domestic product.
Burnham's position
At Labour's conference in Liverpool last month, Burnham said Brexit had done "more harm than good" and pledged to reassess Britain's relationship with the EU, opening the door to options including full re-entry. This week he described failing to secure a better deal with the EU as a "major dereliction of duty".
Haviland said the BCC would consult its 50,000 members, who employ more than 6 million people across the UK, on a range of possible relationships with the bloc, from the status quo to rejoining. Ten years on from the referendum, she said the language of Brexit needed to move on, adding that the question was not political but economic.
Nova Fairbanks, chief executive of the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce (NCC), said it would be interesting to see how many businesses that backed Brexit still hold that view, noting she had seen no change of heart among those who opposed it.
Call for budget action
Speaking on the sidelines of an NCC trade fair at the Norfolk Showground, the business leaders said firms were under growing pressure from rising energy prices and other effects of the war in the Middle East.
Haviland urged the chancellor, John Healey, to take bold action in this month's budget despite government concerns about the public finances and jitters in the bond market. She rejected a "steady as she goes" approach and called for measures on energy bills, business rates and taxes on employment to help companies recruit young people, noting that roughly 40% of a typical energy bill covers energy and about 60% is tax.
Source: The Guardian Business.
Questions and answers
- What has Andy Burnham said about Brexit?
- Burnham told Labour's conference in Liverpool that Brexit had done "more harm than good" and pledged to reassess the UK's relationship with the EU, opening the door to full re-entry. This week he called failing to pursue a better EU deal a "major dereliction of duty".
- How much has Brexit cost the UK economy?
- Economists estimate the cost has been up to £240bn so far, with national income per head 6% to 8% lower than without Brexit. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts a long-term hit of about 4% of GDP.
- What is the BCC asking for in the budget?
- BCC director general Shevaun Haviland wants the chancellor, John Healey, to act on energy bills, business rates and taxes on employment to help firms recruit young people. She criticised a "steady as she goes" budget approach.
