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Larry Elliott is right that Brexit is a pressing issue in this election, even if politicians are doing their best to avoid it (Brexit may feel absent from this election – but it will still define it, June 26). And he is spot on when he says that “there is no real difference between Labour’s growth strategy and their Brexit strategy. If one fails, so does the other.”
Keir Starmer says Labor will boost economic growth while continuing to stifle trade and relations with the nearest major market. It’s as if his shoes are tied, but he refuses to untie them while promising to win an international running competition. Does he really take us for fools?
But Larry is surely wrong when he says: “In the 1990s, the single currency was supposed to deliver faster growth and greater shared prosperity. Instead, as growing support for populist parties all too clearly shows, monetary union is accompanied by economic stagnation and rising inequality.
Many non-Eurozone countries have also experienced economic stagnation, rising inequality and a trend towards populism. The euro has nothing to do with it. Indeed, given the euro’s stability and low interest rates compared to its predecessor, monetary union has probably helped improve the lives of millions. How much richer would most Britons be now if Britain joined Tony Blair’s first term?
The insurmountable problem for Brexiteers is that even if their project could deliver the promised sun-kissed heights, it would take many years to get there, and in the meantime the country would have to suffer an agonizing decline in living standards before things to begin to improve. So it proves itself. And surprise surprise, the audience doesn’t like it.
The inescapable link between British living standards and our relationship with Europe cannot be ignored forever.
Robin Prior
WargraveBerkshire
Larry Elliott calls out “those who voted to leave in 2016” who “still feel ignored and marginalised”. Those who voted Leave because they wanted to leave the EU have no reason to feel left out because they got what they wanted. The UK has left the EU and both major countries are refusing to acknowledge or address the damage done. Those who voted leave for another reason can’t complain that their vote didn’t address their other concerns because that’s not what they voted for. Voting is a powerful tool in a democracy, so voters should think about what they are voting for and take responsibility for their choices.
Chris Webster
Guemligen, Switzerland
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