Category Archives: Brexit

Vets are on a knife edge as they face a perfect storm of staff shortages caused by Covid and Brexit coupled with a lockdown pet boom.

Calls to the industrys confidential Vetlife helpline have surged during the pandemic as veterinary workers struggle to keep up with demand, with 3.2 million households getting a new pet since the first lockdown.

People are being urged to check whether they have access to veterinary care in their area before getting a dog or cat as many practices have been forced to close their books to new healthy animals for months at a time.

Dr Lara Wilson, who is lead surgeon at the Vets Now pet emergency hospital in Glasgow, said the current situation was unprecedented in the 25 years she had worked in the profession.

The last time we had something like this was foot and mouth, she told The Independent. I dont think anyone could have predicted a viral pandemic would result in a boost in pet numbers.

The vet said the single biggest impact on the hospital was a 75 per cent rise in cases compared to two years ago caused by the increase in pet ownership, while Brexit has meant staff vacancies are not being filled and Covid has led to travel restrictions and workers having to isolate at home.

Historically, the veterinary profession had just about enough vets, she said. Pre-Brexit and pre-Covid we were bumping along at quite a high stress level but just about where we needed to be. It was generally possible to recruit somebody else and we did have a constant stream of people coming from Europe into the country to work with us.

That has dried up; with coronavirus nobody is moving and we have the complication of Brexit and those are mixed up together.

There are typically about 2,000 job vacancies in the UK veterinary sector every year, but only 900 vets qualify in the country. Vets from the EU have usually filled this gap, but Brexit has seen numbers plummet.

James Russell, senior vice president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said figures from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) show the UK welcomed 757 vets from the EU between January and August 2019 but only 250 in the same period in 2021.

New rules have also been issued by the RCVS meaning vets from overseas must now meet a higher standard of English, at level 7 in the International English Language Testing System compared to level 4.1, to work in the UK. Requirements for slaughterhouse vets have been relaxed to a level 5 until next summer.

Mr Russell said: The government and Food Standards Agency (FSA) had cause in the summer to approach the Royal College council and ask them for a derogation to bring people into the country at a lower standard of English language to work in a supervised way in official control so slaughterhouses essentially as vets because they recognised we were at risk of not being able to fulfil those official controls.

Thats there to ensure the food that appears on Tescos shelves is safe to eat. When we are in a position where government and FSA are approaching the Royal College to say we need to do something different here that, to me, points to saying we really are on a bit of a knife edge here.

Vets are urging people to check the availability of care in their area before buying a pet

(Hannah McKay/Reuters)

What concerns me is that we are not at the top yet of demand in that sector. So as we get to the end of the grace period of exports into Northern Ireland, as we begin imposing import checks on goods coming into the country, both of those are going to put additional requirements on veterinary time and everyone we draw away into that has to come from somewhere.

The situation is expected to be a slow burner, with Dr Wilson predicting it could be four to five years before new vets begin filling roles, while lockdown pets could be around for the next 12 to 15 years.

Dr Wilson said another side effect of the pandemic was a lot of nervous, frightened young dogs who had not been socialised properly while puppy farmers have taken advantage of the boom and sold sick dogs to families.

She said situations had also arisen where new owners unable to find anywhere to register their pet had led to animals not receiving treatment in the early stages of an illness and having to be put down by the time they have seen a vet when they could potentially have been saved.

Ruth Elliott, clinical director at Acres Vet Centre in Airdrie, said the last year or two really has been a perfect storm.

This has come upon us quickly, she told The Independent. We expected Brexit to bring with it the challenges but nobody couldve predicted the pandemic.

I can hand on heart say I think the stress levels of the profession as a whole have never been so great. Weve been suffering for quite some time with stress, with burnout, but it really is unprecedented, its strange times, difficult times.

Looking back, if you can imagine your worst day in work, a day where you used to come together at the end of the day and go that was the day from hell wasnt it that would be a once-a-month scenario, thats every day now.

Police officers monitor as climate change activists sit down and block traffic during a protest action in solidarity with activists from the Insulate Britain group who received prison terms for blocking roads, on Lambeth Bridge in central London

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A giant installation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson made from recycled clothing goes on display at Manchester Central, as part of Manchester Art Fair, in a 'wake-up call for the Prime Minister to tackle textile waste'

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The scene at a recycling centre in Stert, near Devizes in Wiltshire after a large blaze was brought under control. The fire broke out on Wednesday night the fire service has said and local residents were advised to keep windows and doors shut due to large amounts of smoke

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The sun rises over South Shields Lighthouse, on the North East coast of England

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ancer Maithili Vijayakumar at the launch of 2021 Diwali celebrations at St Andrew Square in Edinburgh

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Forensic officers work outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, following a car blast, in Liverpool

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Wreaths by the Cenotaph after the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall, London

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Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is ending his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks. Ratcliffe has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London without food. He began his demonstration on 24 October after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was caught in a dispute between two states

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Peter Green protesting outside the Cop26 gates during the official final day of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow.

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Seagulls fly around the statue entitled 'Tommy', a first World War soldier by artist Ray Lonsdale at dawn in Seaham, Britain

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Climate activists dressed as characters inspired by the Netflix series Squid Game protest as they ask Samsung to go 100% renewable energy, outside the venue for COP26 in Glasgow

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A deer statue silhouetted at Loch Faskally in Pitlochry, Scotland

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Sunrise over St Mary's Lighthouse at Whitley Bay on the North East coast of England

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Activists from Friends of the Earth during a demonstration calling for an end to all new oil and gas projects in the North Sea outside the UK Government's Cop26 hub during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow

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Protesters take part in a rally organised by the Cop26 Coalition in Glasgow demanding global climate justice

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Final touches are made to a life sized Sir David Attenborough cake surrounded by animals as part of a display created by a group of cake artists during Cake International at NEC Birmingham

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A spectacular display of the Northern Lights seen over Derwentwater, near Keswick in the Lake District

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Police and demonstrators at a Extinction Rebellion protest on Buchanan Street, during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow

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A person walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire

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Sir David Attenborough delivers a speech during Cop26 in Glasgow

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Extinction Rebellion activists protest in Edinburgh as the Cop26 conference begins in Glasgow

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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with Mapuche leader and Minga Indigena Lead Coordinator Claflin Lafkenche (right) alongside indigenous delegates at a ceremonial gathering at the Tramway in Glasgow in a symbolic gesture to mark a unified demand for climate justice

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Ocean Rebellion put on a display of puking oil heads ahead of climate change conference COP26 in Glasgow

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A man dressed as Santa Claus outside Selfridges in London as the department store unveils its Christmas windows on Oxford Street

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Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak during a visit to Fourpure Brewery in Bermondsey, London, after the chancellor announced a cut to beer taxes in his budget

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Activist Steve Bray demonstrates with a toilet outside the gates of Downing Street, after MPs voted in Parliament against the Environment Bill, allowing companies to pump raw sewage into UK rivers and seas, in London

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Second World War veteran James White, 96, at the opening of the Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance, marking the start of the remembrance period

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Richard Ratcliffe holds up a photo of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe as he protests outside the Foreign Office while on hunger strike, part of an effort to lobby the UK foreign secretary to bring his wife home from detention in Iran

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Partner of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Stella Morris and Editor in Chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsson attend a protest ahead of the appeal hearing over Assange's extradition, in London

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Palace Gardener Justine Howlett adds the finishing touches to pumpkins bearing the face of Henry VIII and his wives, at Hampton Court Palace.

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Flooded fields near Lingfield in Surrey, after southern England was hit overnight by heavy rain and strong winds from Storm Aurore moving in from France

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A wing surfer enjoys the strong winds as they surf in the sea off of Hayling Island in Hampshire

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Actor Jude Law holds hands with Little Amal, a 3.5-metre-tall puppet of a nine-year-old Syrian girl, as it arrives in Folkestone, Kent, as part of the Handspring Puppet Company's 'The Walk'

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A view over Southend-on-Sea in Essex, which is set to become a city in tribute to Sir David Amess MP, who spent years campaigning for the change

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Members of the Essex Bangladeshi Welfare Association pay their respects by floral tributes laid at the scene where Sir David Amess MP was killed at Belfairs Methodist Church, in Leigh-on-Sea

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Boris Johnson, Sir Keir Starmer, Priti Patel and Lindsay Hoyle pay respects to Sir David Amess at Belfairs Methodist Church, in Leigh-on-Sea, the site of his death

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A person lays flowers at the scene near the Belfairs Methodist Church in Eastwood Road North, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, where Conservative MP Sir David Amess has died after he was stabbed several times at a constituency surgery. A man has been arrested and officers are not looking for anyone else

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A red deer stag during rutting season in Bushy Park, Richmond, south west London, which is home to over 300 red and fallow deer

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Police officers detain a man as Insulate Britain activists block a roundabout at a junction on the M25 motorway during a protest in Thurrock

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We are on a knife edge: Vets face perfect storm of Covid, Brexit and lockdown pet boom - The Independent

In order to capitalise on Britain's potential post-Brexit, Ms Truss will host officials from across the world, she announced today. Officials from the US US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and the EU, countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Countries will all be invited to the event in Liverpool next month. The appearance from the Association of Southeast Asian Countries will also mark the UK's ambition towards the Indo-Pacific region.

At the event in December, Ms Truss will look to foster closer economic ties with attendees.

Officials will also discuss how to build closer security ties.

Ms Truss said: "The meeting of G7 foreign and development ministers in Liverpool next month is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the city to the world, highlighting the best of British culture, commerce and creativity.

"I will be hosting our friends and partners to discuss how we build closer economic, technology and security ties globally and deliver for the British people.

"I want us to build a worldwide network of liberty that advances freedom, democracy and enterprise and encourages like-minded countries to work together from a position of strength.

"I was deeply saddened by the awful attack in Liverpool this month, but the resolve of the people of this great city will never waver in the face of such atrocities."

The summit of foreign and development ministers will run between December 10 to 12.

The announcement of the summit comes as the UK Government announced a 1trillion a year export target.

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"Exporting businesses are more competitive, pay higher wages and are more profitable.

"Global sales support local jobs.

"And international revenues boost the UKs finances so that we can reinvest in public services.

"Our strategy will therefore support our wider aspirations as a nation.

"Working with exporters of digital, artificial intelligence, shipbuilding and green goods and services will help realise our ambitions as a science and technology superpower and in the Net Zero transformation.

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Truss to unleash Brexit Britain on world stage TODAY - major Liverpool summit announced - Daily Express

Some economists have tried to identify the impact of the departure from the EU by using a synthetic control method. This relies on a computer algorithm to select a weighted combination of economies whose performance best matched that of the UK before Brexit.

The actual performance of the UK economy since Brexit is then compared to this control group, or doppelganger, and the difference taken as a proxy for the impact of leaving the EU.

This approach is fine as far as it goes, but that is not very far. There are a number of problems with all these studies, including the sensitivity of the results to the choice of countries in the control group and the weights assigned to them. Successive iterations of each model have often required some large changes in order to ensure a good fit.

Whats more, even if the 15pc figure for the hit to trade turns out to be correct, there is still a big leap between this and a 4pc fall in GDP. To get this number you have to make a strong assumption about the link between trade openness and productivity.

Again, basic economics would suggest that a reduction in trade is bad for economic growth.

But the hard evidence for the magnitude of this effect is still pretty thin, especially for economies like the UK that are already relatively open and developed.

Even the historical studies typically relied on by Brexit pessimists show results that are imprecise and only marginally significant in statistical terms. Others have found no link at all,or that productivity appears to drive trade, rather than the other wayaround.

Indeed, productivity is notoriously hard to explain or predict as the OBR itself has repeatedly found. While it is plausible that a reduction in trade intensity alone could reduce productivity, Brexit might have positive effects on productivity too. For example, better management of immigration could help to shake the UK out of a low pay and low productivity trap.

The upshot is that we still only have assumptions about the long-term economic impacts of Brexit, not hard facts. There is at least some evidence on the impact of Brexit on trade, but none at all on the impact on productivity, which is just as important for the 4pc figure for the hit to GDP. The OBRs latest analysis is, therefore, not the final proof that many would have us believe.

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There is still very little hard evidence that Brexit will shrink the economy - Telegraph.co.uk

More than five years after Britons voted for Brexit, critics continue to claim Britain is in a much worse position economically, politically and socially than it would be had it chosen to remain in the EU.But a growing number of officials in countries within the bloc are publicly declaring Brexit has done Britain far more good than harm.

An article published in the corporate blog of German bank IKB Deutsche Industriebank on Wednesday highlighted that, despite predictions of post-Brexit chaos, the British economy has not collapsed, investments have proven to be robust and neither corporate nor consumer confidence have noticeably deteriorated.

Dr Klaus Bauknecht, chief economist at IKB, wrote that most of Britains current economic woes can be pinned not on Brexit but on the Governments response to Covid.

Given this, he adds that many of the same problems for example, a reduction in potential growth can also be seen in Germany.

Dr Bauknecht wrote that, for the most part, Brexit did not worsen the financial struggles met by the British Government during the Covid pandemic.

He said: Brexit did not make the [NHS staff shortage] situation worse, as the number of doctors in Great Britain did not decrease between 2016 and 2020."

Dr Bauknecht also noted: "The slump in GDP a year and a half ago initially seemed to confirm the pessimists.

"But the British economy is now in relatively good shape again - especially compared to the German economy.

"That is why the Bank of England is already considering the first rate hikes, especially since estimates of potential growth support the thesis that the negative consequences of Brexit could remain manageable.

READ MORE: Macron turns back on EU as he fights to win next election

While some pundits paint a picture of Brexit Britain faring far worse in its efforts against Covid than its European particularly its EU counterparts, Dr Bauknecht said it has now followed a similar course.

On delivery problems, he added: The concern that the corona effects, in combination with Brexit, will lead to significantly stronger distortions on the supply side and thus more serious delivery bottlenecks, is currently not reflected in either the actual or expected inflation trend.

His overall view is that criticism of Britain's withdrawal from the EU is much ado about nothing.

IKB expects that Britain will see a GDP growth of 7.5 percent in 2021 and 5.2 percent in 2022.

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The bank is headquartered in Dsseldorf, Germanys most populous state.

It also noted that Britain is closer than Germany to returning to its pre-pandemic GDP level.

Earlier this month, the German Bundesrat, which represents the countys 16 federal states, called on the federal government to make use of the opportunities offered by Brexit.

It added that not just Germany but Europe as a whole should strive for the closest and fairest possible partnership with the United Kingdom in the future.

Shortly after this, GDP data revealed that Britains economic recovery from the costs of locking down is set to outpace that of the eurozone.

And Britains economic outlook could improve further still.

Economist Julian Jessop, who describes himself as a Brexit optimist, wrote in the Telegraph that the prospects for the UK are brightening.

He joked: And yes, that is despite Brexit.

Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg.

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So where's the Brexit chaos? German bank hails UK economy after EU withdrawal - Daily Express

Published:5:11 PM November 20, 2021

A series of ad-hoc street surveys across Norfolk has been held to canvas peoples opinions almost two years after the UK left the EU.

Brexit-o-meters encouraging people to put stickers next to statements they felt most closely represented their own views about the impact of Brexit in everyday life were held in Norwich, Kings Lynn and Aylsham on Saturday.

The Norfolk for Europe group gather the opinion of Norfolk people in Norwich on Brexit.Byline: Sonya Duncan- Credit: Sonya Duncan

It was part of a national action day organised by the European Movement with Norfolk findings to be added to national results.

Sarah Patey, secretary of Norfolk for Europe, said: Weve had a range of views from people who feel very strongly it was the right thing to leave but also a lot of people are finding it is not going well for them.

The Norfolk for Europe group gather the opinion of Norfolk people in Norwich on Brexit.Byline: Sonya Duncan- Credit: Sonya Duncan

Rob Colwell, group chair who took part in Kings Lynn, said: Since the summer, the governments Brexit deal has given Britain empty shelves, empty pumps and empty pockets, and now Christmas is under threat.

We wanted to give people in Norfolk the opportunity to share their experiences over the past few months and any fears they may have for the future.

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'Brexit-o-meters' used to gather Norfolk views on impact of leaving EU - Eastern Daily Press

AS the Highland tourist season comes to an end, some hotels are closing early due to lack of staff. If the effects of Brexit are not mitigated by seasonal visas, next summer could be even worse, say workers.

The Brexit drain on hospitality workers is particularly affecting larger hotels in remote locations where seasonal workers live on site and get room and board as part of their package. At the 72-room Gairloch Hotel, host Mihael Melnic said: This has been a very tough season.

We have been very busy but we had four chefs instead of six, five housekeepers instead of seven. It was busy. The prices were a bit lower than usual at times, but we were full. But we had to adjust what we could offer because we couldnt get the staff for example we didnt do any lunches this season, although we usually do a lot of lunches for coach parties.

We are still open for a few more weeks but the other three hotels in the town including the Old Inn and the Gairloch Highland Lodge closed early because of a lack of staff. Old Inn manager Kirk Wiliams told The Sunday National about the nightmare of getting staff earlier in the season.

Melnic said that the hotel was likely to struggle even harder next season unless the UK Government introduces seasonal visas for hospitality workers. The package for workers at the hotel, like many in the Highlands, includes room and board in the adjacent staff block.

READ MORE:Brexit and Covid could bring 'Scandinavian' bar prices to Scotland

Before Brexit we could attract young people from Europe who wanted to spend the summer in the Highlands. But now we are mainly drawing on the pool of people with settled status and that pool is getting smaller because those people are not all coming back to the UK and new, younger people cant come.

Melnic said the hotel also struggled this season because deliveries were constantly delayed and missing items. We are at the end of the supply chain. Almost every delivery didnt have things we were expecting we can substitute but the substitutes are generally more expensive.

He said the increased cost and reduced revenue of this season would translate into higher prices next year. Wages will also have to go up which will also affect prices.

At the Sands Caravan and Campsite, which is closing for the season tomorrow, Jay McGowan from Greenock was getting ready to head home for a rest after a busy few months. At the start of the season, I applied for 15 jobs. Ten of them got back to me immediately asking when I could start. I chose this place because the accommodation is nice, you get a studio apartment with a kitchen area and they dont charge you too much.

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They also pay more than the minimum wage. Jay also enjoyed being able to have his nephews to stay in his apartment at the beachfront site for a few days holiday in the summer.

AFTER a combination of Covid and worker shortages, dozens of Highland hotels are on the market. The 46-bedroom Garve Hotel on the popular North Coast 500 is currently deserted, its tables still set for dinner it has been on the market for more than a year, like the Mackay Hotel in Strathpeffer.

Loch Maree Hotel, which has a memorial stone outside it, commemorating Queen Victorias stay there in 1877, has also been on the market for several months. Other hotels in the Highlands currently looking for buyers some of which are still trading include an unidentified 45 lodge site valued at 3.5 million, Kincraig Castle, the Plockton Inn, the Falls of Dochart Inn at Killin, and many more.

At Old Mill Highland Lodge Pauline Byrne said: My husband and I run this hotel ourselves. We are going to sell up next year as we are ready to retire. But we do know that lots of hotels in the area have had difficulty trying to get workers this season. We have been OK as we run this on a bed and breakfast model but I dont know how the big hotels will manage next season.

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Highland hotels forced to shut due to lack of staff post-Brexit - The National

Although there have been fears the City may lose its place as the dominant European financial market, commentator Ben Wright suggests the UK remains the destination for clearing houses. A clearing house is an intermediary between a buyer and a seller in a financial market. The clearing house validates the transaction between the two and makes sure both honour their obligations.

While Brussels may want to shift influence to the EU, the bloc realises many firms want to remain in the UK.

LCH is the clearing house owned by the London Stock Exchange.

It manages roughly 90 percent of all euro-denominated derivatives, Mr Wright suggests in his column for The Telegraph, pointing to "a notional value of something like $100 trillion".

Mr Wright notes: "If the ECB were to decree that all euro-denominated derivatives had to be cleared in the eurozone, it would severely diminish the EUs reputation as an open economy and the euro as a global currency.

"Its worth remembering that some 90pc of dollar-denominated trades are also cleared in London and the US is fine with that."

Mr Wright also quoted William Wright from think tank New Financial, who said: "Clearing is a constant reminder to Brussels that London is where a lot of international firms choose to do lots of their business while the EU is a location where they have to do some of their business.

Of course, if the EU regulators were to force firms to clear their euro-denominated trades in the eurozone it would only further underline that point.

Following Brexit, the EU did not grant the UK equivalence meaning firms must apply two sets of rules to trade.

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"The extension of equivalence should be long enough to allow us to revise the EU supervisory system for CCPs.

"This proposed way forward strikes a balance between safeguarding financial stability in the short term which requires taking an equivalence decision to avoid a cliff-edge for EU market participants and safeguarding financial stability in the medium term which requires us to reduce this risky over-reliance on a third country.

Away from financial services, the EU and UK will hold talks over the Northern Ireland protocol next week.

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EU bottles it! Brussels 'wakes up' to risk of raiding City of London in finance war - Daily Express

The Falkland Islands, known as the Islas Malvinas, have been a bone of constant contention between the UK and Argentina since the war fought over them in 1982. The archipelago is currently a self-governing British Overseas Territory. Dr Christopher Sabatini, Senior Research Fellow for Latin America, US and the Americas Programme at Chatham House, told Express.co.uk: The Falklands issue for Argentina remains an exceedingly central one.

He explained: Unfortunately - and its unfortunate - Argentine governments, when theyre feeling threatened or politically with their backs against the wall in terms of domestic politics, they turn to the one thing that nationalistically people will rally around the flag for, and thats the Falklands.

That will be much more difficult to do if those relationships were diversified across a range of sectors across a range of people.

Then, it would be much more difficult for them to rattle their sabre around that issue if people had invested in other areas of that relationship.

He added: Its a shame because theres a need to diversify that relationship.

READ MORE:Argentine issue fresh Falklands threat over new port

Dr Sabatini continued on to cite how Argentina does regularly try to get other countries in the region to rally behind its claims to the Falklands, looking at the former government of Luis Incio Lula da Silva in Brazil.

He described how there was very much a claim and very much a sense that if Britain claimed the Falklands, there could also be claims on oil rigs off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

So, they tried to build this in their own perspective of regional solidarity and national interest.

Ultimately, according to Dr Sabatini, the Falklands matter far more to the Latin American claimant to the Malvinas than they do to Britain.

Dr Sabatini commented: Im always struck whenever I go to Argentina.

I dont think Ive ever heard someone from the UK mention it when they talk about Latin America, except in the sense of, well, what are we going to do? Whereas in Argentina, they still refer to it.

They still refer to their heroes from the Falklands War - it is still very much on their minds, whereas for most Brits that Ive spoken to, its a resolved issue.

Its not on the table, its not up for negotiation, its simply something that they can approach in a way that could be addressed in a way without any drama.

But thats not the way for Argentina.

Its still something very much thats an issue of stinging pride to the national sovereignty."

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Argentina weaponising Falklands to stifle Brexit Britain's trade in region new warning - Daily Express

Since the vote to leave the European Union five years ago, Remainers have often framed it as a product of racism and white nationalism.

This is essentially the approach taken by Mike Makin-Waite in his new book, On Burnley Road: Class, Race and Politics in a Northern English Town. Makin-Waite, who worked for Burnley council from 1995 until 2018, focuses on Burnley in order to show a common political thread, as he sees it, linking the rise of the far right in the 2000s to Brexit and the collapse of Labours Red Wall.

The beginning of this thread can be found in May 2001, when Burnley was among several northern towns to be rocked by race riots. The following year, the far-right British National Party (BNP) picked up the first of several local council seats. For Makin-Waite, this street-level racism not only helped the BNP nearly 20 years ago it also fuelled Burnleys vote for Brexit in 2016 and its election of a Tory MP in 2019.

Makin-Waite is from Burnley and has a political background in the Communist Party of Great Britain. However, he neglects to mention that the CPGB and its affiliated newspaper, the Morning Star, are also Eurosceptic. There is a reason for this. He wants to obscure any link between left-wing politics and Euroscepticism in case it spoils his presentation of Brexit as a product of white nationalism. It is also why he does not mention other northern towns, like Rochdale, which have significant Asian and Muslim populations but which also voted Leave.

Makin-Waite does distance himself from some of Remainers more crass assumptions about Brexit voters. He rightly points out that white working-class people and Muslims have been falsely presented as homogenous racial groups. And he acknowledges that it was mainstream parties (especially Labours) open disdain for voters in towns like Burnley that enabled the odious BNP to gain a foothold in the north west. Unlike aloof New Labour activists, the BNP posed as sympathetic to forgotten ex-Labour voters and talked of services, jobs and housing.

The strength of On Burnley Road lies in the depth of its qualitative research, which brings to light the hopes and aspirations of ex-Labour voters in the north. The book also does an excellent job of exposing Labours duplicitous approach to Muslim voters, in which it relied on them for votes, but simultaneously pursued housing policies that shunted Asian workers and their families into run-down areas.

Too often, however, Makin-Waites primary research is at odds with his conclusions. Although he declares himself a working-class socialist, his analysis is influenced by middle-class academics and identitarian activists. As a result, On Burnley Road paints Britain as a nation lost to ignorance and malice, and riven with racism.

For all his sympathy for the working classes, Makin-Waite still presents them as Britains main carriers of racism and xenophobia. As he sees it, they express a national chauvinism rooted in Britains colonial history. He ignores the fact that the membership of the BNP has always been strikingly middle-class. It is full of retired accountants, ex-servicemen, small businessmen and solicitors. That is why there are more BNP members in, say, leafy Surrey than there are in inner cities or places like Burnley.

Makin-Waite is on much stronger ground when he acknowledges how the allocation of government regeneration funds to different minority groups fuelled tensions in areas like Burnley and Oldham. This shows how inter-communal conflicts, like those that erupted in the early Noughties, were often stoked by official multiculturalism. Indeed, the ideology of multiculturalism, which divides society up into identity groups, actually helped the far right and drove the growth of white identity politics. In 2003, for instance, BNP leader Nick Griffin happily accepted the description of himself as a multiculturalist.

Makin-Waite also looks at his own efforts to confront Burnleys communal divisions for example, he led Burnley councils attempt to promote community cohesion and improve race relations. His efforts had mixed results, and it is not difficult to see why. Whereas old anti-racism campaigns emphasised class-based commonality and promoted social solidarity, Makin-Waites approach focuses on racial division and colonial guilt, and uses terms like white privilege. This approach encourages ethnic minorities to view their fellow British citizens as the source of their problems. And it antagonises those it paints as the beneficiaries of white privilege namely, white working-class people. As one voter told Makin-Waite as he attempted to conduct a survey: Another thing mate, Im no fucking racist. Dont be putting me down on your form as a racist.

Theres no doubt that residual racial prejudice did galvanise some voters in north-west England to vote for the BNP. But On Burnley Road also reveals how many of those who voted for the BNP were keen to distance themselves from racism and white nationalism.

Besides, if ethno-centric nationalism really was the dominant driving force in Burnley, why did UKIP quickly replace the BNP as the protest-vote party in the European Parliament and Westminster elections during the 2010s? After all, UKIP was concerned with national sovereignty not ethno-nationalism. This concern shaped its organisation and ultimate goal leaving the European Union.

The reason for UKIPs popularity, of course, is pretty simple. Its quest for independence resonated with those working-class voters who wanted the power to hold national lawmakers to account, rather than be forced to accept whatever laws were handed down from Brussels. But Makin-Waite does not explore northern working-class voters desire for democratic representation and accountability. As far as he is concerned, national sovereignty is code for imperialism and racism.

However, Makin-Waite does view Scottish nationalism favourably. In the Scottish National Party he sees a forward-looking and civic-minded nationalism that welcomes all migrants. His enthusiasm for the SNP is not a surprise. Like many Remainers, he sees the devolved administrations as a check on, and a counterweight to, the Tory-voting English majority. Scottish nationalists are thus effectively a stage-army opposition to the English working class.

What Makin-Waite is less keen on exploring is why the Scottish working class also abandoned Labour in the same way as English Red Wall voters did. Indeed, the SNPs electoral base in Glasgow and Edinburgh is just as working class as the Brexit vote was in England. Leaving aside the SNPs support for the sovereignty-crushing EU, the SNP vote also reflects a demand for renewed democratic representation from a working-class constituency. It seems that the working class on both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border have a lot more in common than many Remainers realise.

For all Makin-Waites sympathy with the northern working class, and his spot-on criticisms of the Labour Party, On Burnley Road is let down by its anti-Brexit prejudices. It captures the lefts inability to connect to ordinary peoples democratic aspirations all too well.

Neil Davenport is a writer based in London.

On Burnley Road: Class, Race and Politics in a Northern English Town, by Mike Makin-Waite, is published by Lawrence and Wishart. (Order this book here.)

Picture by: Getty.

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The relentless demonisation of Brexit voters - Spiked

Patrick Grant, 49, has been sucked into the Brexit debate on Twitter.One of his most recent post includes a small rant about EU lorry drivers in the midst of the HGV driver shortage.

The fashion designers post rails against UK government plans to issue temporary visas to lorry drivers to attract them to the UK.

The Great British Sewing Bee judge said: What makes us think that EU lorry drivers are going to pack in their secure well-paid jobs, leave their friends and family, and move to Britain for a job they'll lose in three months time?

In view of his 65,300 followers, the judge tweeted and received a few charged responses.

However, most of the social media users in the comments happened to agree with Patricks take on the lorry crisis.

READ MORE:Rod Stewart cuts off The One Show hosts over 'touchy subject'

@Missymusician81 said: Im going to say blind arrogance, conceit & the hangover of an empirical superiority complex.

The same reason we thought we would be perfectly ok to screw around with the EU on Brexit negations.

The same reason our covid deaths have been so extreme. Look to the leaders.

@Click_Write also explained that they thought the UK government was criminally corrupt and inept and that anyone still in this country is desperate, also agreeing with the fashion designer.

The project is called Homegrown Homespun.

The initiative aims to revive Blackburns textile industry, by producing linen clothes locally - this includes growing the flax and making the garments.

"The idea with Homegrown Homespun is to rebuild the entire supply chain," Patricktold the BBC.

Patrick explains that the UK used to be entirely self-sufficient when it came to clothing.

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Patrick Grant wades into Brexit row as he goes after government in angry lorry driver rant - Daily Express