Beware Brexit Sirens

Philip Hammond’s third way compromise, a sort of living dead between in and out, won praise from Liberal Democrats and the BBC so we should be suspicious.  Supported by a barrage of business voices forecasting economic disaster if Britain falls off the EU’s cosy regulatory cliff, we are being brainwashed into thinking that growth of the economy is everything and that everything should be put aside in pursuit of that last decimal point of prosperity progression.  I would make 3 points:

• Firstly, what is the point of economic growth if, in the process of chasing numbers, we allow the balance of our society to change and we lose our national identity?  Remember, another 3 years of the current levels of immigration will generate the requirement for 1.5 new Birminghams (see previous posts).   What chance of meeting affordable housebuilding targets then?
• Secondly, it is disgraceful that we should be so dependent upon immigration to fill basic skills.  What has gone wrong with our education and training system that we cannot rely upon it to fulfil our national economic needs?  We need to remember that the purpose education, primarily, is to replenish our stock of knowledge and ensure that society has the skills it will require in the future.
• Finally, this country will continue to lag in the global race until the problem of our lamentable productivity is addressed.  In, out, or in the middle, increased productivity is the key to our national survival.