Writing to the Prime Minister, Imran has urged the Government not to take the UK out of the EU with either a bad deal or without a deal due to the devastating impact that such a move would have on the manufacturing sector in Bradford and in Yorkshire and the Humber 

According to analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiled by the GMB trade union, there are around 5,000 manufacturing jobs in Imran’s constituency of Bradford East, with a total of 273,000 manufacturing jobs across the Yorkshire and Humber region, which together support almost half a million jobs in the wider economy in the region and deliver around £11.8 billion in manufacturing earnings. 

However, an end to the frictionless and tariff-free trade with the EU that these manufacturers rely on under a chaotic or No-Deal Brexit would deal a hammer blow to the sector, with the Government’s own analysis showing that that customs checks which would be a necessity under a no-deal scenario could cost businesses across the country around £13 billion a year. The impact would be even greater on those businesses with supply chains interwoven throughout Europe due to the delays that would be created. 

Yet, despite the growing warnings about the impact that a No-Deal Brexit will have, the Prime Minister and other Senior Government Ministers have repeatedly threatened to take the UK out of the EU on 31st October 2019 without a deal, with Imran stating in his letter that the Prime Minister is all too willing to “plunge our country into the chaos that will be created” as a result of No-Deal. 

Speaking on the impact of a No-Deal Brexit on Bradford’s manufacturers, Imran said: 

“The manufacturing sector is vital in supporting the local and regional economy in Bradford and across Yorkshire, as well as in growing the number of high-skill, well-paid roles that it creates, and I will strongly resist anything that will negatively impact on the efficiency and competitiveness of the sector to protect our economy and safeguard these jobs. 

“Instead of recklessly running down the clock to a No-Deal Brexit, with all the damage that this option poses by removing the frictionless and tariff free trade that manufacturers exporting to and importing from Europe heavily rely on, the Prime Minister must immediately rule it out and take it off of the table, or risk crippling Bradford’s economy by crashing out without a deal.”