Little wonder the bunting wasn’t out for Brexit’s anniversary - Yorkshire Post Letters

Three years ago, on January 31, our country left the EU. There seems no sign that this anniversary will be celebrated. There are no flags or bunting, no processions planned, no fireworks or light shows on the Thames and there is complete silence from Rishi Sunak and his government.

Remember Boris Johnson promising that Brexit would usher in a “new golden age” while Jacob Rees Mogg said that independence from the EU would bring “a new era of revitalisation to our nation”.

Brexit has completely failed to deliver anything like a “new golden age” and it certainly has not “revitalised” the UK.

Nothing could be further from the reality that faces so many people struggling to provide themselves and their families with the basics of food and heating.

Brexit has exacerbated the challenges we face. It is not surprising that our economic crisis is the gravest in a generation and worse than most of our European neighbours. The fault is self-inflicted as we created the barriers to trade with our close partners. The UK is now the sick man of the G7 - the only member with an economy that is still smaller than it was before the pandemic.

We also have a migration crisis that is made worse by an inadequate vetting process which takes months to process claims for asylum.

Bregret aptly reflects the view of more than half of those who voted to Leave who are now saying they made the wrong decision. Pollsters report that the majority of the public think that if we were ever offered the chance in the years ahead, they would like to rejoin the EU.

It would be wise to admit that Brexit was a huge blunder that has damaged the credibility of our nation that will take years to rebuild.