A bit late for that, isn't it?
It takes a special kind of hypocrisy to spend decades campaigning for Britain to leave the EU, then turn around and demand all the benefits of EU membership anyway.
But that’s what Mark Reckless (by name and nature) has done in a new Senedd committee report.
The UKIP Assembly Member is chair of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, which today published a report on the future of land management in Wales.
In his foreword, Reckless writes:
“We are now calling on the UK Government to ensure Wales continues to have full access to the European Single Market. It is vital to the success of the agricultural industry; some sectors of Welsh food production would be seriously compromised if they had to trade under World Trade Organization rules.”
While we agree, we can’t help but think that Reckless should have considered the detrimental impact Brexit would have on the Welsh economy before campaigning for a Leave vote.
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6 Responses to “Feeling Bregretful? UKIP’s Mark Reckless demands Single Market access for Wales”
Alan Smart
Now it is true. Most Welsh lamb goes to the EU and under WTO Rules they will be subject tariffs which will probably make them uncompetitive in Europe. At home is we import tariff free lamb fom New Zealand and Australia, where production costs are a fraction of those in UK they will probably become uncompetitive in UK to. BUT they could have foreseen this in June so why vote leave and complain now.
wonkotsane
You think you’re being clever but you’re not. Mark Reckless understands perfectly well that you can have access to the single market without being a member of the single market, something that Remainers seem to be unable to grasp. If you had to be a member of the single market to access the single market how would the EU trade with the rest of the world?
Perry
If Mark Reckless “…understands perfectly well that you can have access to the single market without being a member of the single market.” why would he be “…calling on the UK Government to ensure Wales continues to have full access to the European Single Market”? He isn’t talking about that, he’s talking about the tariff that will be levied under WTO rules, which is why he goes on to say “Welsh food production would be seriously compromised if they had to trade under World Trade Organization rules”. To explain it as simply as possible to you wonkotsane, of course the UK outside the EU can continue to trade with the EU, as it has always been free to trade with whoever it wishes, BUT, previously this trade with the EU was tariff free, if (when) the UK leaves the EU, it wont be. UKIP and all the other leave campaigners knew this when they were trying to get you to vote for them, and when remain campaigners mentioned it, they were “scaremongering”. Except they weren’t, which is why people like Reckless are now backpeddling like crazy. YOU CANNOT BE OUTSIDE A CLUB AND EXPECT TO CONTINUE TO REAP THE BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP.
Jordan Clark
So, after this the Brit will eat their own food?
Gina TT
To Mr Wonkostane
I suggest you look into how and how not you can have access to the single market, much like the Norway model. You pay to get access, like we do now, however you get no say on the rules and regulations, and you trade with the rest of the world on WTO terms, like we do now. You also get no re-bate. So do the maths why don’t you.