The Independent – which insiders complain has now totally irrevocably gone into a “kind of loony tin-foil-hatted propaganda mode” – ran a bizarre front page splash this weekend: ‘five years on, the true cost of Brexit’. The dodgy stats fell apart in moments as X erupted in pushback against the flimsy remain put-up job…
Economist Julian Jessop weighed in to debunk the wild claims:
Just a few example…
1⃣ the ‘divorce settlement’ is money that the UK would have had to pay anyway had we remained in the EU, so not a ‘cost’ of Brexit (and it is turning out to be less than expected anyway)
2⃣ the correct takeaway from the LSE study (and a point they made…
— Julian Jessop (@julianHjessop) January 5, 2025
Jessop also suggested he had been selectively quoted in the piece: “FYI, I’m quoted here on the upfront costs of #Brexit, though not (of course) on the longer-term benefits! This is just an incoherent jumble of #badbrexittakes which have already been debunked many times before, by myself and others“. A common Independent tactic, leading to a cringe fest for those involved…
And for further quotes to pad out the weak story the reporters turned to… none other than arch-remainer in chief, Lord Heseltine. The pro-Remain rant concluded with more space-filling ballast from none other than Stella Creasy – chair of Labour Movement for Europe, which campaigns for the UK to rejoin the EU. You couldn’t make it up, unless you’re working for The Independent…
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”