THE Labour Party won’t be able to keep avoiding Brexit in the next Parliament as the UK's relationship with Europe is too “pivotal” to economic growth and tackling the cost of living crisis, an international relations expert has said.
Professor Stephen Gethins, who is also looking to re-enter the House of Commons for the SNP in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, argued Brexit is going to be “massive” in the next term and “all MPs will have to have something to say on it”.
Gethins added he feels the mainstream media needed to take more responsibility for promoting honest debates around Brexit as he expressed concern over the platform Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been given despite his lack of electoral success.
The General Election on July 4 will be the first one since the UK formally left the EU, but the main parties have been consistently criticised for failing to speak about Brexit and advocate for what they have chosen to back.
On Monday, First Minister John Swinney hit out at Labour and the Tories for refusing to acknowledge the impact of Brexit on the UK in a scathing speech in Aberdeen where he accused them of a “Westminster knows best” approach to the union.
He told of how Brexit had become the “elephant in the room” and there was now a “conspiracy of silence” between the two main parties who “don’t want to talk about it”.
Gethins argued that as much as Labour want to avoid it, the Brexit process is not done and he will be raising it at every opportunity if he is voted in next week.
He told The National: “Brexit is going to be massive in the next Parliament. It can’t not be.
“People say the Brexit process is done, but it’s never done. The relationship we have with the rest of Europe is pivotal to growing the economy and to economic success. This is not a done deal.
“Also, critically, if you’re seriously going to tackle the cost-of-living crisis we know that Brexit is having a direct impact on that and therefore you need to resolve that. So this is far from being a done deal.
“If you’re going to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, if you are going to look at economic growth, and the constitutional anomalies that exist in the UK, you can’t ignore Brexit.
“Even though Labour and the Conservatives don’t want to talk about it, I’m afraid the SNP will want to talk about it, and it’s going to be the elephant in the room which the Labour Party can’t avoid making eye contact with.”
Asked if he would be making Brexit his central focus if he becomes an MP again, Gethins added: “I’m absolutely committed to bringing our relationship with Europe. It will be critical to talk about in terms of growing the economy, tackling the cost of living crisis, how to create opportunities for young people, how to make yourself more secure.
“All MPs will have to have something to say because it is pivotal to those areas.”
The damage Brexit has brought to the UK is continuing to be recognised across Europe, Gethins insisted, as he highlighted how centrist parties on the continent were using it as an attack against those who want to leave the EU, while some politicians on the right have moved away from arguing for leaving the bloc.
And he has been critical of the way the media appear to have dodged any meaningful conversation on Brexit while giving spotlight to Farage.
Last week, the BBC scheduled a second Question Time special because Farage did not feature in the first one aired last week.
Fiona Bruce was also criticised following the first programme for a “blatant” shutdown of John Swinney while he was speaking about the impacts Brexit had had on the manufacturing industry.
Asked if he felt the media had focused on Brexit enough during the election, Gethins said: “No, I don’t. One thing I find very frustrating is you’ve got someone like Nigel Farage and the Reform Party [getting spotlight].
“When Nigel Farage has led parties they’ve never so much as retrieved their deposit at a parliamentary election in Scotland, yet they’re given so much airtime by the BBC and other broadcasters as well.
“I think you have to bear some responsibility for setting the narrative and for the situation in which we find ourselves in.
“We need to have an open and honest conversation and I hope the media will take a more balanced approach.
"You have campaigning newspapers on this issue and that’s meant that having a proper debate around it is very difficult, but it can’t go away and you cannot make light of the facts staring you in the face about the impact this is having on everyone in the UK.”
