THE latest economic predictions of what a no-deal Brexit will mean in the North are ‘devastating’ and should serve as a warning to the DUP, Sinn Féin’s Elisha McCallion has said.
She was commenting after the CBI predicted that a no-deal Brexit could cost the North’s economy £5 billion a year.
The Foyle MP said: “This is a frankly devastating prediction from the CBI who have warned that a no deal would cost the North’s economy almost £5 billion a year by 2034.
“This confirms the official Bank of England estimate of an almost ten per cent economic contraction from a No-Deal Brexit — that’s worse than the banking crisis recession – and of course the damage will be greater and last longer in the North.
“The economy here simply could not sustain a drop of output on that scale. It would do significant harm to jobs, investment, living standards and the all-Ireland economy.
“Despite this the DUP continues to pursue a reckless agenda which is inexorably leading toward a no-deal Brexit.
“They have rejected a Withdrawal Agreement that broadly includes the kind of assurances that business has been crying out for.
“Instead they pursue a reckless and ideological position that threatens to devastate our economy.
“Perhaps this latest prediction from the CBI will serve as a warning to the DUP and they will belatedly start injecting some common sense into their Brexit strategy – if indeed they actually have one and aren’t simply lurching from one crisis to the next,” added the former Mayor of Derry.
