IN the run up to the referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Union, when I was still editor of The Northern Echo, it was clearly important for the paper to have a considered stance on a vote that would have generational implications.
For me, it had to be much more than unsubstaniated political soundbites, such as Boris Johnson’s infamous claim that Brexit would save £350m a week to be invested in the NHS. We all know now that was a lie.
Instead, the Echo team spent months talking to North East businesses, big ones and SMEs, about their position on EU membership. I personally went into one major North East manufacturer, which preferred not to go public, but had major fears about the multiple layers of bureaucracy that Brexit would add to exports.
The paper’s editorial stance – that we should remain in the EU – was based on the feedback of employers at the heart of the region’s economy. I’d stepped down as editor just before the referendum delivered a result that showed 52% in favour of leaving the EU and 48% against but this was The Northern Echo’s front page under my successor.
Ten years on the from referendum, the BBC in-depth team has produced an analysis of the impact of Brexit.
It isn’t click-bait, or top-of-the-head stuff that is all too common, it is what it says on the tin – “in-depth”. It’s well worth a read – and I hope it makes Boris Johnson squirm.
I went back to the same manufacturer years after the referendum. The feared layers of bureaucracy are all there – and more.