The owner of the Daily Mail has warned that profits will be down by almost ten percent this year due to falling circulation and Brexit. The company explained that economic risks had been increased due to Brexit, so companies are not buying adverts.
The Daily Mail saying that Brexit is bad for the economy?! Wonders will never cease.
This may explain why the previous editor, Paul Dacre - a virulently doctrinaire Brexiteer - has been replaced by Geordie Greig, who seems more aware of the damage Brexit has already caused and what a disaster 'no deal' would be.
An example of the economic risks is seen in the UK car industry, which employs over 850,000 people and relies on free movement of goods between the UK and the rest of the EU. Industry investment has already fallen from £2.5 billion to £1.1 billion, and production is also falling, in contrast to previous industry predictions of continued growth. Car-makers explain that they are holding back investment until the uncertainty around Brexit is sorted out.
Jaguar Land Rover - our biggest carmaker - is reassessing its manufacturing plans. It has recently bought a new car factory in Slovakia while its electric vehicles will now be produced in Austria. Most of its British-made vehicles have diesel engines - diesel sales have dropped 30% since the recent attacks on diesel's environmental safety record. Jaguar is also holding off on deciding whether to build electric cars here - the chief executive says the decision awaits clarity on the Brexit deal. He added, "You hardly see inward investment anymore."
His comment was echoed by the chief executive of PSA (owners of Vauxhall and Citroen) who said, the company "cannot invest in a world of uncertainty", while Ford (12,000 UK employees) is considering stock-piling vehicles before next year in anticipation of customs delays and large import duties.
Nissan, Toyota and Honda are all big employers in our car industry, with a total of 142,000 UK employees. The Japanese ambassador recently warned Mrs May that they would require tariff-free access to European markets post-Brexit, otherwise the companies would have to relocate: "If there is no profitability ... no private company can continue operations."
When such a large industry has such concerns about Brexit, even the Daily Mail has to take notice.
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