SCOTTISH HOLIDAYMAKERS SET TO PAY THE PRICE OF TORY BREXIT.
HARDLINE BREXIT RHETORIC SENDS POUND PLUNGING.
SNP MP Patricia Gibson has warned that Scottish holidaymakers face paying the price of the Tory government’s damaging Brexit plans as the value of the pound plunged to a staggering 28-month low, hitting people’s pockets as they exchange currencies and prepare for the holiday season.
The pound fell to a 28-month low this week as Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson ramped up rhetoric of a devastating no-deal Brexit – the lowest level in more than two years.
In response to the fall in the pound and holidaymakers facing extra costs as they prepare to travel, Tory MP Robert Halfon dismissed the impact stating that “Hopefully holiday-makers will choose GB as a holiday destination.”
The SNP’s Consumer Affairs spokesperson said that after a decade of Tory austerity, falling real wages, cuts to social security and continued Brexit economic uncertainty, it was families and ordinary people who faced being hit the hardest. The MP added that people in Scotland must not pay the price of a Tory Brexit imposed on Scotland against its will by a Tory government it did not vote for.
Economic analysis has already shown that people’s pockets and living standards are set to be hit if Scotland and the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, destroying 100,000 Scottish jobs and costing every person in the country £2,300 a year.
Commenting, SNP MP Patricia Gibson said:
“With the summer holiday season in full swing, the plunge in the value of the pound to a staggering 28-month low as a result of Brexit is a blow to Scottish holidaymakers as they face higher costs when exchanging currencies and preparing for their holidays with families and friends.
“The Tories’ assault on people’s pockets and living standards has been ramped up as Boris Johnson pushes ahead with his catastrophic Brexit plans, which Scotland did not vote for and which we know will leave us all poorer and worse off.
“Rather than reversing the damaging consequences Brexit is already having – before the UK has even left the EU – the Tories’ flippant response by saying holidaymakers might stay in the UK instead of exploring different countries and cultures just shows how out of touch the Tories are. It’s high time Boris Johnson took heed of the evidence and acted in the interests of all nations across these isles – rather than his own self-interest.
“People in Scotland deserve the choice of a better future than the Brexit Britain being imposed on us. It’s clearer than ever that the only way to properly protect Scotland’s interests is by becoming an equal and independent European country.”