Labour will try and force a binding vote in the Commons to compel the government to publish its latest Brexit impact report.
Leaked to Buzzfeed on Monday, the study shows the government’s latest assessment of the impact of Brexit on the UK economy.
The government have been accused of trying to hide the report, as it shows that every possible Brexit scenario will leave the UK worse off than staying within the European Union. The study shows that even if the UK immediately signs trade deals with the US, China, India, and other nations, a hard Brexit would still cause the UK’s growth to be more than 7% worse over the next 15 years.
Meanwhile, the analysts found that a comprehensive free trade agreements between the UK and EU would reduce the impact to a 4-5% reduction in growth, and remaining within the single market and customs union would reduce the impact further to 1-2%.
Importantly, the study clearly shows that the best deal for the UK is to stay within the European Union, and that is what the government is being accused of attempting to hide from the public.
Labour shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said MPs needed to have all the facts and details at their disposal so parliament can have a meaningful debates on the subject of Brexit and make informed decisions about the UK’s future relationship with the EU. He said: “People voted to leave the European Union in part to give Parliament control about its own future.
“That means giving MPs the information they need to scrutinise the government’s approach to Brexit.
“Ministers cannot keep sidelining Parliament to hide the deep divisions within their own party. They should accept this motion and allow the country to have an informed debate about its relationship with Europe after Brexit.”
In response to the leaked documents, Justice Minister Phillip Lee said: “The next phase of Brexit has to be all about the evidence. We can’t just dismiss this and move on. If there is evidence to the contrary, we need to see and consider that too.
“But if these figures turn out to be anywhere near right, there would be a serious question over whether a government could legitimately lead a country along a path that the evidence and rational consideration indicate would be damaging. This shows the PM’s challenge.
“The PM has been dealt some tough cards and I support her mission to make the best of them. It’s time for evidence, not dogma, to show the way. We must act for our country’s best interests, not ideology & populism, or history will judge us harshly. Our country deserves no less.”
Former Conservative chancellor Kenneth Clarke accused ministers of trying to avoid tough questions and “political embarrassment” by preventing the documents form being released.
The government says publishing the document would damage the UK’s negotiations with the EU, but failed to offer anything to support the claim. Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis, has been conspicuously quiet since the leak.
