Britain’s trade unions have called for a debate on the economic damage of Brexit

The head of the UK’s biggest trade union has called on the opposition Labor Party to hold a debate on the economic impact of Brexit on working people.

The Observer newspaper reported that mounting evidence indicates that Brexit is contributing to inflation and prompting jobs and investment to move abroad.

Gary Smith, general secretary of the GMB union, which has 500,000 members across the UK and is one of Labour’s main financial backers, told the newspaper that politicians in all parties were reluctant to acknowledge the negative impact of leaving the EU. Employment opportunities and living conditions within working communities.

„There is a lack of honesty and fear among politicians to face the impact Brexit will have on the bottom line of the economy,” Smith said.

„In terms of what the future looks like, it has to start from a position of honesty, it’s hitting trade, it’s hitting investment, we need a new solution.

„We know we’re not going to re-enter the EU. But we have to recognize that friction at the borders is one of the factors behind inflation. It’s bad for jobs and bad for investment.”

The GMB chief noted concerns raised by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca – the employer of countless GMB workers – about its future investments in the UK after Brexit.

He expressed his fears that the company may shift production to the EU if it finds more favorable trade and tax conditions.

The Observer noted that Smith’s comments illustrate the unions’ desire to influence the development of Labour’s economic policy ahead of the next general election next year.

The paper said the comments will resonate with pro-EU Labor supporters and supporters of the party’s reluctance to highlight the flaws of Brexit or propose a more concrete strategy for a closer relationship if it wins the next election.

Some key Labor strategists are concerned about alienating large numbers of supporters who voted to leave the EU during the 2016 referendum, the newspaper said.

Labor leader Keir Starmer last week vowed not to reintegrate the UK into the EU or its single market, in an article written for the Daily Express newspaper, seeking to reassure its mainly Conservative-backed readers.

At the same time, he said the Brexit deal negotiated by former prime minister Boris Johnson’s government had failed and would require re-evaluation.

„Britain’s future lies outside the EU,” Starmer said.

„Not in the single market, not in the customs union, not going back to freedom of movement. Those arguments are in the past, that’s where they came from,” he said, adding that „it doesn’t make sense to pretend that everything is working well”.