NEWS · 19 December 2022
"I’ve got a Benefits of Brexit advent calendar – every day a door closes."
– Olaf Falafel
Britain is grinding to a halt. The wave of strikes across rail, post and most recently nursing are showing how much the UK relies on the goodwill and huge effort of workers to function at all.
What's that got to do with Brexit? Everything.
First, Brexit – by cutting us off from European workers – has meant staff shortages, piling the pressure on already stretched services.
Second, a combination of Brexit itself and the policies of the Brexiter government have combined to cause high inflation, which disproportionately affects everyday items such as basic foods, alongside high interest rates.
In this situation, of course you get strikes – any annual 'pay rise' below the level of inflation (running at 10-11%) is in fact a pay cut.
This cost of living crisis is all part of Brexit Britain's broken economy.
Research shows that Brexit added £6 billion to our food bills, fuelling the particularly high inflation in food prices. And this hits the lowest-paid households hardest, because they spend more of their income on food.
The researchers, from the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, found that Brexit adds 3% per year to food prices, meaning it has already been 6% since the end of the transition period. Remember, Britain still imports most of its food.
As pro-Europeans, we stand with everyone fighting for fair pay, and while we're with them let's raise the issue of Brexit as the cause of soaring prices.
Standing with nurses
Stay European volunteer Ceira visited the nursing strike picket line on Thursday. She writes:
"I attended the picket line outside the Royal Liverpool University Hospital to support the nurses' strike. I spent a few hours surrounded by desperate but empowered nurses and health professionals, all deeply passionate about protecting our NHS.
One of the crucial points fuelling this industrial action is the lack of safe staffing levels; something that has been aggravated by Brexit and the turning away of the much-needed EU workforce. The economic bedlam that has ensued as Brexit's repercussions really take hold is also battering our NHS.
The strike is demonstrating against the unsustainable pressures on the NHS - which are indisputably linked to Brexit. Nurses and nursing unions refuse to allow these political blunders to continue to affect patient care and safety.
All industries need fair pay, safe staffing and a functioning workforce. Brexit and government lies deliver neither."
Sixteen Million Rising is the UK's longest-running pro-EU (and pro-Rejoin!) radio show and podcast, broadcasting weekly, for free, on Mixcloud. Each week it looks at the biggest stories in Brexit and beyond with news, views and music contributed by listeners to the show.
Stay European recently became a supporter of the show, to help fund their drive for 100 subscribers to be able to keep making it every week until we rejoin the EU. They're currently on 69 subscribers – this festive season, can you help them out?
Listen to Sixteen Million Rising
Public inquiry petition
You may have seen that the parliamentary petition calling for a public inquiry into the impact of Brexit has now reached 85,000 signatures.
Launched just three weeks ago by Peter Packham from Leeds for Europe, the petition calls for an independent inquiry to examine the effect that Brexit has had on the UK, and compare it to what was promised during the EU referendum.
If Peter’s petition attracts over 100,000 signatures it will have to be considered for debate in parliament. So please sign and share it with friends and on social media.
Have a merry, and European, Christmas!
