EU, Brexit and Berkshire
We explore how the EU membership benefits Berkshire and the local impact of Brexit.
Brexit Job losses
Job losses due to Brexit are being mapped out.
Berkshire is impacted with the loss of 20 jobs at Panasonic in Bracknell.
All of Berkshire is now pro EU!!!
Best for Britain and Hope Not Hate have produced a new map of British attitude towards Brexit and the tide has turned. All Berkshire constituencies are now pro EU (so Slough and Bracknell are now pro EU).
https://www.bestforbritain.org/map
EU funding – interactive map
See what the EU has funded in your area(Berkshire obviously!) Courtesy of Best for Britain and MyEu.Uk
https://www.myeu.uk
We need EU!
We need EU!
Slough Council impact report
Slough Council has prepared a Brexit impact report. Appendix A really interesting. project reality
http://www.slough.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/s52630/Report%20and%20Appendices.pdf
Brexit could cause significant upset to business in Berkshire
Of the estimated 855 businesses across Berkshire that are owned by a foreign company, more than a third are based in the European Union.
It means Brexit has the potential to cause significant upset to business in the area once it comes into effect next year.
In fact, a recent survey from the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply revealed that one in seven businesses from EU countries with a presence in Britain have already moved parts of their business out of the country because of concerns about disruption after Brexit.
https://www.cips.org/en-gb/knowledge/procurement-topics-and-skills/brexit1/brexit-surveys/
https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/brexit-could-cause-significant-upset-to-business-in-berkshire/
Reading and Slough named as one of areas hit hardest by Brexit
A report by the think tank Centre for Cities and the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics reveals the cities and towns most affected by Brexit. It puts Reading, which overall voted to Remain in the referendum, in 3rd place in the country over the effects of a hard Brexit with a drop 2.8% in GDP. Slough, which overall voted Leave, is ranked in the 5th place in case of a hard brexit with the same drop as Reading. Reading drops to fifth place at a loss of 1.4% if there is a soft Brexit (4th place for Slough, with same GDP loss).
https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/business/reading-named-one-areas-hit-13414634
Reports from Getreading (click on sentence):
People in Reading pessimistic about Britain’s Brexit future and want a say on EU exit deal
Job opportunities in Reading fell by a quarter since Brexit study reveals
Nearly 20 per cent of Reading’s Brexit voters now want to remain in the EU
General articles about key business of Berkshire being impacted by Brexit:
EU help in Berkshire
The European Commission sends money to help deprived areas of England. For 2014-2020 that’s an estimated £2,341,754,630 for 2014-2020 ( so about £7.5 millions per week).
The British government lists all the different English beneficiaries of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF) projects.
What is the ERDF?
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) helps to reduce disparities between the levels of development of European regions and to reduce the backwardness of the least favoured regions. More here.
What is the ESF?
The European Social Fund (ESF) was set up with a view to improving workers’ mobility and employment opportunities in the common market and later to reflect developments in the economic and employment situation in the Member States, as well as the evolution of the political priorities defined at EU level. More here.
Money from EU through ERDF and the ESF have supported local beneficiaries in Berkshire (2014-2020).
Here are they (we had to edit a bit the spreadsheet for visibility, the full version is available here:
The Reading Borough council has been twice the beneficiary of EU money: once for Low Carbon economy project and once for a project aiming to address unemployment in the area (see below).
Vulnerable Young People – Elevate Me Reading
The Stronger Together Partnership receives £650,000 from the European Social Fund to help vulnerable young people find work. The READING-based project which is a joint venture between Reading Borough Council, Wokingham, and West Berkshire has been awarded £1.3million in funding half from the Big Lottery Fund and half European Social Fund. This is an on-going project and it’s not clear how long the funding will continue.
Details of the project from Reading Voluntary Action http://rva.org.uk/stronger-together/
RBC Press Release http://news.reading.gov.uk/strongertogether/
The European Commission website has its own blog to debunk myths
(such as the shape of a banana…)
Have a look, it is really good: http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/euromyths-a-z-index/
Campaign For Europe In Berkshire 