Friday, July 10, 2026

Business executives call on the Prime Minister to save the Northeast from Brexit | Brexit


Two weeks ago, James Ramsbotham sent a letter to Boris Johnson calling on the Prime Minister to save the Northeast Brexit “damages our economy” And urged him to give “the most urgent and personal attention.” Two weeks later, it still has no answer.

Ramsbotham is the chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce in Northeast England. He speaks on behalf of thousands of companies struggling with the extra costs of red tape and compliance with EU rules.In a recent survey, 38% of members indicated that sales to Europe Decline since January.

“This is not an initial problem,” he said. “Our ports are facing the EU, and our region has the highest percentage of exports to the EU. It is vital to remove more barriers.”

The chamber’s survey showed that when asked about their personal views, three-quarters of its members wanted to stay in the single market.

The same percentage reported that they were economically harmed by leaving the EU.

“Many businessmen in the Northeast told me that the only way to improve this situation is to return to the single market. We didn’t say that in the letter because the prime minister’s dogmatic attitude on this issue told us that this would fall on deaf ears,” he said.

Instead, the organization called for a relaxation of the rules, allowing more HGV truck drivers to work in the UK, and providing more generous funding for SMEs Brexit The support fund helps more companies train employees and purchase the equipment needed to complete the new customs inspection.

The letter finally told the Prime Minister: “damaging the ability of the companies that create wealth for our country will make this country poorer. Doing so while we are trying to recover from the pandemic, and all the debts incurred from it, will pay This country has brought a burden for decades.”

Former Barclays Bank executives and former Army General David Ramsbottom’s son Ramsbottom said that he “does not care about politics at all” and that he spends a lot of time and places when he is not talking to local companies. Talk to the leaders of the parliament-most of them are the Labour Party.

“In my opinion, this government has broken the traditional connection between the Conservative Party and business. The real problem is the complete lack of strategic planning. From our point of view, there is nothing. The same is true of Brexit. A strategic plan for Europe’s success,” he said.

According to the trade agreement reached between the UK and the EU, tariffs may remain at zero, but Ramsbottom provides a long list of obstacles “unsolved by the ministers”, including how to apply the new rules of origin to determine which goods Compliant with tariffs-free of charge, it is difficult to obtain export health certificates and additional inspections of goods that cause queues at the port.

The analysis of the UK Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex supports his sense of loss of leaving the European Union. Last month, it stated that between January and April this year, the trade and cooperation agreement negotiated to obtain membership in the Customs Union “reduces British exports to the EU by 18.7%, and imports from the EU by 25.8%. Leaving the European Union”.

After decades of government support, the Northeast has one of the smallest private sectors relative to the economy, and several back-office departments in Whitehall have been withdrawn from London.

Earlier this year, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced that the latest will be Darlington’s “Treasury Campus”, He said this shows that the government takes escalation seriously.

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Ramsbotham will resign as chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce this fall after 15 years as chairman of the Newcastle Architectural Society, but he is not impressed. He said that investment is being drained from the region and cited the railway manufacturer Hitachi’s plans in the region as an example.

“Hitachi bought a site in the northeast to build trains for the whole of Europe. This place is large enough to accommodate three factories, but they only built one, and the rest of the land is empty. If you want to know where it will be For EU-made trains, you need to visit Hitachi’s new factory in Italy.”

Speaking of the Cabinet, he said: “If Brexit So successful, you would think they would yell on the roof, but that is not the case. “



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