Campaign group 4EU urges Kent County Council to investigate Brexit impact on county
Published: 08:40, 01 March 2018
Anti-brexit campaigners have called on Kent County Council to carry out an assessment of the potential repercussions of leaving the EU.
Remain supporters delivered a letter to KCC leader Paul Carter urging the authority to investigate the consequences of Brexit for the county’s economy and jobs.
Campaigners from 4EU brought a battle bus to County Hall to highlight what they claim will be the negative impact of Brexit on the county.
Mid-Kent 4EU Chair Nicholas Kerr said: “Leaving the European Union will have a huge impact on Kent. Failure to conduct impact assessments is a matter of negligence.”
“The government’s own Brexit impact assessments show that all scenarios will damage the UK. The impact in Kent is likely to be very high indeed.”
Antony Hook, KCC Liberal Democrat opposition spokesperson for economic development, backed the call for impact assessment reports. He said: "Whether you favour leaving or staying in the the EU, no-one yet knows the full impact Brexit will have on their lives, or the lives of their children or grandchildren.
"The final deal is still being negotiated, and we just don't know what the terms will be. What we do know is you shouldn't buy anything without knowing the price.”
The event yesterday featuring a “battle bus” with the slogan “Brexit to cost £2,000 million a week” marked the end of a nationwide tour around the country before ending at Maidstone’s County Hall.
Earlier it had stopped at Dover and Canterbury.
The impact of Brexit on the county has focused mainly on the prospect of the potential for traffic gridlock around the ports as HGVs could need individual customs checks, potentially leading to congestion and disruption on motorways and other key routes.
Like many authorities, KCC has qualified for EU grants over the years and while many projects will continue to be supported up to and beyond March next year, there is a question mark over long-term funding.
More by this author
Paul Francis