Senior Tory and Brexiteer Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has slammed Sir Keir Starmer’s attempts to blame Brexit for Britain’s troubles. Sir Jacob said Sir Keir is “at it again” as the Prime Minister tries to distract attention from Labour’s own mistakes. The former Conservative Cabinet Minister spoke out as Labour launched a new campaign designed to convince British voters that Brexit is responsible for the UK’s economic problems.
Sir Jacob said: “Labour’s analysis is a bad-mannered and ungracious failure to accept that it lost the referendum. It is more importantly untrue. Economically, there is no evidence that leaving has been harmful.” He said that because of Brexit, the Treasury was receiving revenue “that it would not otherwise have received.”
Writing in the Telegraph, Sir Jacob highlighted Labour’s effort to blame Nigel Farage for Brexit and the supposed damage that it has done to the economy. He wrote: “After failing to successfully blame the Tories for its own failures, the party is nonetheless is at it again. This time it seems to place responsibility on Nigel Farage because Brexit, according to the Government, is the cause of all its fiscal ills.
“This ignores the choices made last year to hammer businesses with increases in National Insurance and the minimum wage. Instead, fault is found with a decision made in 2016 by the British people.
“Blaming Nigel Farage is effectively attacking the largest democratic decision ever made by the British electorate. Too scared to accuse the voters themselves of getting it wrong, Labour attacks one of Brexit’s main protagonists, implying that he gulled foolish voters into doing something that was not in their interest.”
It follows reports that Sir Keir is to blame Nigel Farage and Brexit for Britain’s expected downturn in productivity at the Budget. Treasury watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility is expected to confirm that the economy has grown more slowly than expected and the Chancellor will be forced to plug a hole in the public finances of between £20bn-£30bn, which will require tax rises or spending cuts.
Sir Keir and chancellor Rachel Reeves are repopted to be planning to argue that this downgrade is caused by Brexit, and to say Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is responsible.