Why Brexit stitch-up will not help textile industry – The Yorkshire Post says

AS the 13 – and counting – Tory leadership contenders struggle to weave a new narrative for their party and country, hence why Sam Gyimah, the ex-Universities Minister, has become the latest MP to throw their hat into the ring, many candidates don’t seem to appreciate how badly their machinations are playing out in the rest of the country.
The textiles industry is among many sectors of the economy awaiting clarity on Brexit.The textiles industry is among many sectors of the economy awaiting clarity on Brexit.
The textiles industry is among many sectors of the economy awaiting clarity on Brexit.

None of the umpteen weekend interviews shed any light on how a Brexit deal will be pulled together once Theresa May leaves office – a state of affairs that will be greeted in despair by those groups here in Yorkshire who are working tirelessly to promote a new-look textiles industry ahead of the Kirklees’ Woven Festival later this week.

And herein lies the rub. At a time when they’re trying to sell their historic industry – and also new technology – to a new generation of a recruits, textile producers are still unsure, three years after Britain voted to leave the EU, about future trade policy, and how it will affect their efforts to sell their industry-leading fabrics to the rest of the world. In many respects, President Donald Trump’s state visit should be the perfect platform for Yorkshire textile firms to promote their work to an American audience. Yet the fact that this will not be happening is, in many respects, down to the intransigence of the same politicians now trying to stitch up the Tory leadership to suit their own agendas. And it is simply not good enough.