PMQs: Tory claim of ‘economic credibility’ undermined by Brexit reality – Plaid Cymru

Both Sunak and Starmer guilty of perpetuating Brexit lies

At PMQs today, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP, criticised the UK Government’s economic credibility given the Prime Minister’s refusal to consider rejoining the single market.

This comes after a Bloomberg interview last week, in which the International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch disputed the Office of Budget Responsibility’s March forecast that UK trade would be 15% lower in the long-term due to Brexit.

Ahead of next week’s Autumn Statement, Ms Saville Roberts told Mr Sunak that it is “a fact” that Britain’s “woeful economic prospects are worsened by being outside the world’s largest trade bloc”.

She criticised both Mr Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer for undermining their own claims to economic credibility by “perpetuating Brexit lies”.

Liz Saville Roberts MP said:

“The Prime Minister is struggling to rebuild the Tories’ ruined economic credibility after his predecessor scorned the Office for Budget Responsibility.

“But in a Bloomberg interview just last week his trade secretary disputed OBR forecasts that trade will be 15% lower because of Brexit.

“Britain’s economic prospects are worsened by being outside the world’s largest trade bloc. That is a fact.

“So who does he agree with? The OBR, or his Tory minister?”

In response, Mr Sunak spoke about future trade deals.

Speaking after the session, Ms Saville Roberts added:

“Rishi Sunak is desperate to prove that he is different to his economically reckless predecessor Liz Truss, yet refuses to take pragmatic steps to boost the economy by reducing trade barriers.

“He could have showed that the era of pandering to the extremists of the European Research Group is over, but his reply only reinforced that he remains as beholden to the ERG as his predecessors.

“Both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are complicit in perpetuating Brexit lies due to a lack of political backbone. For the sake of the economy – particularly for us in Wales – both Tory and Labour politicians need to start being honest and recognise the need to rejoin the single market.”