This anti growth government that has done so much to kill growth in our domestic market now goes in search of growth from EU trade. It has banned our businesses getting out more oil and gas, put strict limits on how many petrol and diesel cars our motor industry can sell prior to a complete ban on their best selling lines in 2030, taxed people out of jobs and increased closures of pubs, shops, entertainment businesses and the rest. It has followed a strong de industrialisation policy,is trying to close down as much industrial capacity as possible that dares to use fossil fuels by imposing high carbon and windfall taxes and bans. It refuses to offer grants to farmers to farm but will offer them money to stop growing food and rearing animals.
It is true our exporters do create jobs, pay people good wages and boost our GDP. If its more exports the government wants to replace its dwindling home output of manufactures, energy and food, then it should go to the places that buy lots of our exports, are buying more year by year and want to do business with us. Both in and now out of the EU our trade with non EU countries has been growing faster than with the EU. Both in and out our trade in services have expanded rapidly, especially with non EU countries. The quickest wins for more exports are trade deals and government backing for more exports of our services to the rest of the world beyond the EU to countries that speak English and like what we do.
Our trade in goods with the EU sees us in massive deficit. In 2024 we imported £313bn of EU goods but exported little more than half that at £174 bn. We import lots of refined oil products as we close down more of our own refineries in the name of net zero. We are importing plenty of crude oil as we refuse to get more of our own out of the ground. We are importing large numbers of cars as the government squeezes our own industry to closure brought on by high taxes on petrol and diesel cars made at home. We import plenty of vegetables and fruit we could grow for ourselves as government policy seeks to dissuade farmers from growing things. We also import a lot of European medicines and electrical products.
Our balance of trade in goods is bound to get worse with the EU on current policies. Our past top exports to them of oil, refined oil products, vehicles, chemicals and miscellaneous manufactures are all being hammered by the government’s high energy anti industry policies. Our services exports to the EU are growing but at a slower pace than with the rest of the world.
The government is wrong to think making sacrifices to try to get more trade with the EU will help us grow faster. Loosening rules on trade will help them more than us given the huge imbalance in trade in goods and the impact of their restrictive rules on farming and making things.
What would make a big difference is import substitution. That would boost growth. If only the government would follow policies that encouraged us to get out more of our own oil and gas, keep open our refineries, run chemical works with sensibly priced feedstock, and boost domestic entertainment, hospitality and tourism we would cut the big EU balance of trade deficit, create more jobs at home and enjoy faster growth. Imports subtract from GDP.
January 31, 2026
Indeed in short the government need to do complete U-turns on every single policy they push. Abandon net zero, scrap the tenants rights bill, scrap the workers rights bill, scrap VAT on school fees, halve the size of the state, cut taxes, stop the wars on motorists, landlords, the self employed, small business…
They say Growth, Growth, Growth is their number on priority and yet they insanely push endless policies that do the complete reverse.
January 31, 2026
Exactly growth is their first priority yet everything they do is profoundly anti-growth.
I caught Kemi on Desert Island Discs yesterday. Sensible lass but with an immpossible job (words left out ed) and somewhat odd music tastes too. But why no Sir JR on Desert Island Discs or indeed on R3’s Private Passions? Is this due to the BBC or JR?
Reply Entirely the BBC. They rarely invite me on, never run the important stories I get onto GB News and other outlets .In the last year they once put me on to try to neutralise or caricature my views of Brexit.