Facing up to the cost of Brexit
IT’S far from big numbers involved, but the last thing tourism needs is another blocker to put people off from visiting the island. Yet we are now in the last few days of French day-trippers being able to pop over to the island for a day, relying on just their identity card and no passport.
The scheme, a one-year one-off as it has turned out, is yet another victim of Brexit, the tumultuous vote the island had no say in and yet has been feeling the repercussions of for years now. And there is no sign of that ending.
‘The UK did this to Guernsey and they have cost us millions with that ridiculous decision of Brexit – and it’s going to cost us and cost us and cost us,’ said Economic Development president Neil Inder in the States this week.
For all the talk of ‘opportunities’ created by Brexit they appear to be thin on the ground, meanwhile we have civil servants running around continually fixing issues, securing borders and arranging for the signing of much-vaunted trade agreements, all created by the decision for the UK to leave the European Union.
If anything of substantial benefit – that is, an advancement on what we had prior to 2021 – has been agreed with anyone, the reaction has been muted. It would be encouraging to see real evidence of the benefits of any free trade agreement secured so far.
Otherwise the analysis of Brexit so far has been much cost for little benefit.