Eloise Todd, CEO of Best for Britain, which campaigns to keep all options for Britain’s future relationship with the European Union on the table, commenting on the launch of a new £10 note today (14 September) said:
Eloise Todd, CEO of Best for Britain, which campaigns to keep all options for Britain’s future relationship with the European Union on the table, commenting on the launch of a new £10 note today (14 September) said:
“The new tenner is 15% physically smaller than the old one, but when it comes to purchasing power, Brexit has gone one better and stripped it of 16% of its value.
“Since the referendum on 23 June 2016, the pound has lost 16% of its strength as measured against Britain’s main trading partners. So today’s new tenner is only worth £8.60 of pre-referendum money on the international markets.
“When it comes to what we can buy in Europe, the decline against the euro is even more dramatic: down to under £8.40.
“This represents much more than a squeeze on spending money for a family holiday. The Ministry of Defence is planning to spend £19 billion on equipment priced in dollars and £3 billion on equipment priced in euros over the next decade. The Brexit devaluation means either getting less – potentially leaving our forces under-equipped – or paying more, so starving other projects of money.
“The exposure of the NHS to the costs of the Great Brexit Devaluation is almost certainly even greater. The British Medical Association says that Brexit is already having a ‘negative impact’ on the NHS and poses ‘serious risks’ in the future.
“In other words, today’s new tenner will buy Britain’s NHS, Britain’s armed forces and millions of British holiday makers £8.60’s worth of pre-referendum goods and services.”
Eloise Todd noted that steps could be taken to limit or even reverse the impact of the Great Brexit Devaluation:
“The events of the last 18 months have shown that the pound strengthens every time there is a sign that Britain is pulling back, even slightly, from the cliff edge of Brexit, and weakens every time there is a hint that we are accelerating towards a chaotic Brexit. That surely means acknowledging No Brexit is better than a Bad Brexit and keeping our options open makes good economic sense.
“We could even deliver a much needed shot-in-the-arm for millions of hard pressed family budgets by stepping back from the crazed ideas of the Brexit fanatics.”
Concluding, Eloise Todd, said:
“The new note features a picture of Jane Austen, one of the greatest of British novelists.
“When Austen was at the height of her powers, Sterling was worth about four times more than today. No decision to keep the option of No Brexit open is going to take us back to that, but it might do something to end the economic slide that has seen our trade gap widen, inflation rise and public services face even greater cuts because of the rising cost of purchasing essentials.”
—-
Notes:
1. On 23 June 2016, the pound’s trade weighted index (2005 = 100) was at 87.9268, on 7 September 2017 it was at 75.2882 (figures from the Bank of England) – the equivalent of £10 being devalued to £8.56.
2. On 23 June 2016 the spot exchange rate between the pound and the euro was 1.3039, on 7 September 2017 it was 1.0918 (figures from the Bank of England) – the equivalent of £10 being devalued to £8.37.
3. In January 2017 the National Audit Office reported on the MoD’s 2016 – 2026 Equipment Plan (see paragraphs 3.17 – 3.19): https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/The-Equipment-Plan-2016-2026.pdf
4. The BMA commented on the risks Brexit posed to the NHS on 26 July 2017: https://www.bma.org.uk/news/2017/july/brexit-takes-toll-on-nhs-balance-sheet?imgdoctors=