Do you know how much extra money the UK is spending checking perfectly lawful people crossing our borders, following Brexit? According to Reuters, the figure is £4.7 Billion pounds. This is not money spent preventing human trafficking gangs, or stopping drug smugglers. This is money that is required to check perfectly legal citizens crossing the border with EU conutries and making sure that when prawn sandwiches and baguettes are imported from France, the paperwork is correct. One of the mantra's of Brexit was that it would let us "take back control of our borders". What has happened is the complete opposite. We are spending £4.7 billion pounds checking what is by and large perfectly legal activities, adding huge costs and wasting everyones time, whilst starving our border forces of the money required to stop criminals using non legal routes. In short, it is a huge waste of money. It is beyond dispute that the Tory government have lost control of the borders. What no one seems to be saying is that a vast sum is being spent checking and inconveniencing perfectly law abiding citizens, diverting money from where it should be spent, stopping criminals.
It doesn't matter whether you support Remain or Brexit, the truth is that the government has made a monumental cock up in the negotiations with Europe. We have the worst of all worlds, huge inconvenience for travellers, huge costs for businesses and an ipen border for criminals. Rishi Sunak has been Prime Minister overseeing this mess. Perhaps the only thing he has done right is give us the opportunity to sling him out on the 4th July.
No comments:
Post a Comment