MPs demand government publish Brexit impact studies

Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green and SNP MPs have written to Brexit secretary David Davis


PA

By Agnes Chambre

11 Oct 2017

More than 120 MPs have written to David Davis demanding the government publish its studies on the impact Brexit will have on the country.

The letter, organised by Labour’s David Lammy and Seema Malhotra, accused the government of “keeping the public in the dark” over its refusal to publish a report about the effect leaving the European Union will have on jobs and living standards. 

The Department for Exiting the European Union said the report will be published “in due course” but did not confirm which specific areas the report has looked into. 

The letter, which was signed by Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green and SNP MPs, including Vince Cable, Sue Hayman and Caroline Lucas, said: “Leaving the European Union will have a huge impact on our economy for generations to come.

“We believe it is important that there is a full and frank debate about the impact of Brexit on our economy, jobs, trade and living standards and what can be done to mitigate risks. That is only possible if analysis of the impact of Brexit is published.”

Lammy said: “We have to wonder what exactly the government are hiding in refusing to publish these reports,” he said.

“Parliament and the public have a right to know what analysis the government has done on the impact of Brexit, particularly if this analysis reveals that a hard Brexit will be a disaster for our economy, jobs, trade and living standards."

Malhotra said the government’s failure to be release the report showed it was “desperate to avoid scrutiny and seeking to bypass parliament and the public” and claimed the publication was “clearly in the national interest”.

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