28 January 2019

The Guardian: Northern Ireland business leaders press MPs to back Brexit deal

Leaders from Northern Ireland’s business, farming and community groups have launched a last-ditch campaign to try to persuade opponents of Theresa May’s Brexit deal and the Irish border backstop to reconsider.

A group of 20 representatives from non-political organisations in Northern Ireland will meet politicians including Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer, the Liberal Democrats’ Vince Cable and the Scottish National party’s leader in the House of Commons, Ian Blackford.

They will also meet the Northern Ireland secretary, Karen Bradley, and hope to meet the Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay.

The leaders will argue a no-deal Brexit would lead to “fiscal chaos” in Northern Ireland and higher inflation on food exports from the region to British supermarkets.

Aodhán Connolly, the director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, said: “This is not just about the consumer in Northern Ireland, we are talking about the systematic dismantling of the Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland supply chain.

“That is going to hit Northern Ireland worst. To dismantle something built up over 40 years is going to mean cost rises not just for shoppers on the island of Ireland, but across Great Britain.”

Stephen Kelly, the chief executive of Manufacturing NI, said the deal on the table was not perfect but businesses in Northern Ireland could live with it.

“Our business community, farming representatives, trade unions and voluntary sectors agree that the withdrawal agreement, whilst not perfect, is workable and much better than no deal, and its approval would secure the critical transition period, protect jobs and allow everyone to move to the more positive future relationship negotiations and agreement with the EU,” he said.

Connolly added: “The time for political games and brinkmanship has long passed. We can’t sleepwalk into a no-deal Brexit, which will be a catastrophe for Northern Ireland business and for Northern Ireland households. We need a deal and the only deal on the table is May’s deal, even if it means extra checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The alternative is fiscal chaos.” [...]

Full article on The Guardian

© The Guardian