Brexit is working and anyone who says it has affected the economy and trade has an ax to grind, said former Brexit negotiator David Frost on the sixth anniversary of the UK vote to leave the EU.
Lord Frost paused before painting a picture of “sunny highlands” but said official figures used to predict a 4% drop in Brexit output were “zombie” figures based on studies academics from former communist countries, and not facts.
“These studies mainly analyzed the effect of the opening up of poorly managed ex-communist and former authoritarian economies in which the opening was producing great improvements in the political regime in general, and in which the profits came from these broader improvements not just trade, “he said.
His comments come a day after a report by the Resolution Foundation think tank said Brexit was hurting the competitiveness of UK exports and worsening the cost-of-living crisis for households. It was dismissed by Brexit Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg as a “regurgitation of ‘project fear'”.
Frost said on Thursday: “The view that Brexit is hitting us from an economic and trade perspective is generated by those who have an ax to grind and cannot be supported by any objective analysis of the figures. The UK has grown at the same rate as other G7 countries since the referendum, and as the ONS points out, our exports of goods to the EU are at an all-time high. ”
He said the picture since 2020 was clouded by trade disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the supply chain crisis. It may never be possible to determine the impact of Brexit alone, he told the UK’s annual conference at a changing European organization.
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In a lengthy keynote speech as the EU drew its arms around Ukraine and Moldova with a plan to give them candidate status for membership, Frost asked how long Brussels would continue ” giving us a lesson. ” He suggested that if the EU wanted a stronger relationship with the UK, it would have to adjust its behavior in Northern Ireland and in general.
Frost also questioned why the UK government had not threatened to activate Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol when it introduced a bill to overturn Brexit agreements last week. “I’m a little intrigued by why there isn’t Article 16? I think there are some traces in the government’s legal opinions [which] “It simply came to our notice then.
But he backed Foreign Minister Liz Truss’ controversial bill, saying there had been “no serious discussion” about the solutions presented by the UK in a command document last summer.
He said: “Brexit is working. We have no reason to regret the decision taken by the country. The solutions to the remaining problems cannot be found by stepping back, but by completing the process and following its logic.”
Frost played a prominent role in the Brexit negotiations, first as an adviser to Boris Johnson as Secretary of State and then as the Prime Minister’s trade negotiator on Brexit. Although he won applause among Brexiters for sealing a trade deal in December 2020, his continued criticism of Europe has antagonized many in Brussels.
He suggested on Wednesday that it was up to the EU to re-establish relations: “Does the EU want Brexit to work? Can it overcome the current frictions and work with the UK as a trusted partner, or will it continue to bother us and teach us a lesson?