Unions slam David Davis and industrial strategy

Here’s why

Never mind being in contempt of Parliament – by not being open about the impact of their approach to Brexit, the Government is in contempt of workers, industry and the British public

GMB, Britain’s general union, says the fact David Davis’ department is heavily redacting Brexit impact assessments makes a mockery of yesterday’s industrial strategy. 

The Brexit Secretary has been told he could be in contempt of Parliament after Government analysis on the impact of Brexit on 58 industrial sectors were heavily edited before being handed to a select committee. 

This afternoon Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer challenged the Brexit Minister to make a statement on the release of the impact assessments with an urgent question. 

GMB has been calling on the Government to stop hiding the information from the general public since January. 

Last month GMB’s General Secretary Tim Roache wrote to the Prime Minister demanding the Brexit impact assessments be published. 

Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary, said: 

“Never mind being in contempt of Parliament – by not being open about the impact of their approach to Brexit, the Government is in contempt of workers, industry and the British public.

“Brexit is without doubt the most important issue facing the UK economy for a generation – so any industrial strategy that doesn’t reference the potential impact isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. 

“This is not a political game – this affects people’s lives, their jobs, their families and their futures. 

“The Government must come clean on this – what have they got to hide?”