Fears that Brexit will hit the economy hard
Leaving the EU will be disadvantageous and weaken economic growth in almost every sector and region of the UK, a confidential report commissioned by the British government shows. Europe's newspapers blast the British leadership.
Prime ministerial hypocrisy
The business paper Les Echos criticises Theresa May for withholding data showing the impact of the Brexit for so long:
“If 10 Downing Street opposed the publication of such figures for months on end it's no doubt because they are disadvantageous to the majority of Tories who favour a hard line in the negotiations with Brussels. And because Theresa May seems determined to leave her intentions unclear for as long as possible. This hypocritical attitude, however, is preventing legitimate debate in Britain over just how much economic loss the British are willing to accept in the name of defending their sovereignty. The question deserves to be openly debated.”
Déjà-vu in the Brexit circus
The study doesn't reveal anything new, columnist Sheila Sitalsing writes cynically in De Volkskrant:
“Downing Street's attempts at damage control are touching: it points out that the study fails to note that thanks to their legendary skills in negotiating with the idiots in Brussels, the British will secure a deal that fully corresponds to Britain's needs, after which the proud Kingdom will be better off than ever. ... According to the report the hardest-hit regions will be those where support for Brexit was at its highest. This phenomenon, too, is not entirely unfamiliar. ... In the words of the great philosopher Bob Marley: 'You can fool some people sometimes, but you can't fool all the people all the time'.”