Author Archives: Dick Taverne

Dick Taverne

Dick Taverne writes…Three reasons the Brexit vote is reversible

By Dick Taverne | Fri 14th July 2017 - 11:55 am

Vince Cable has boldly challenged the received Westminster wisdom that the referendum vote is irreversible.  Here are three good reasons why he is right.

Leavers did not vote for Brexit to make us poorer..

A very thorough YouGov inquiry carried out on the eve of the referendum into what motivated Leavers found that very few “expect, or would tolerate, a hit to their living standards …. They were almost unanimous in believing Brexit was a cost-free option.”   There was no evidence of any willingness to make economic sacrifices to achieve such aims as reducing immigration or regaining sovereignty.

Brexit is making us poorer.

The evidence for this is growing stronger every day.  Living standards are declining because of rising inflation while wages stagnate.  More and more companies plan to emigrate, with thousands of probable job losses.  Our economic growth is now the slowest in the G7 – and depends on unsustainable levels of household debt.  There is a growing shortage of key EU workers in vital public industries and services, such as the building trade, the tourist industry and fruit farming; and most ominous of all, thdere is a decline  of over 90 per cent in EU nurses and carers applying to work in Britain.

And worse is still to come.  A recent report commissioned by Mayor Sadiq Khan predicts Brexit could cost 70.000 jobs in the City of London alone, which would have a devastating effect on our national economy.  Indeed the overwhelming majority of economists predict a bleak  future after Brexit.

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Posted in News | Tagged | 29 Comments
Dick Taverne

Lord Dick Taverne writes: A common cause to stop Brexit

By Dick Taverne | Thu 14th July 2016 - 7:05 pm

There is a smell of defeatism in the air, a widespread view that the people have spoken and that we must respect them and accept their verdict. What nonsense! There is nothing sacred about a referendum vote, any more than the result of a General Election. We Lib Dems cannot accept Brexit because it would be a calamity that would undo everything we have always fought for. Furthermore reversing Brexit is not a hopeless cause.

When the time is right, there is every justification for a new referendum. A referendum must offer a clear choice, which the last did not. When Theresa May says Brexit means Brexit, what does Brexit mean? Some Leavers want no more free movement of labour, which means no access to the single market. Others want access, which means the free movement of labour must stay. Indeed with only a very tiny margin in favour of Leave, far more votes were cast for Remain than for each of these two incompatible objectives of the Leave Camps.

A re-run is especially justified if there is a dramatic change in circumstances, such as a massive shift in public opinion. This is very likely. Most economists and every independent expert organization, the IMF, the IFS and the Bank of England, predict a serious recession. Leavers promised a future in the sunny uplands, and lots of new money for the NHS, not more austerity and severe cuts in spending. Now they may be ringing their bells, but soon they will be wringing their hands.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 66 Comments
Dick Taverne

Lord (Dick) Taverne writes… Cameron heads for Brexit

By Dick Taverne | Fri 28th November 2014 - 4:20 pm

David Cameron - head in handsIf Mr Cameron becomes Prime Minister again after May, he is likely to be the Prime Minister who will lead the UK out of the European Union.

From time to time Mr Cameron has expressed enthusiasm for Britain being at the heart of the EU. In his Bloomberg speech in January last year, he declared:

“I believe something very deeply, that Britain’s national interest is best served in a flexible, adaptable and open European Union and that such a Union is best with Britain in it….There is no doubt that we are more powerful in Washington, in Beijing, in Delhi because we are a powerful player in the European Union. That matters for British jobs and British security.”

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 20 Comments
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