It was all so predictable, and it was predicted. The committee obviously had none of the original Brexiters. There was no Davis, Raab, Fox, Baker, Gove, Cash or any of the other idiots who all heard similar warnings in 2016 but claimed either these problems wouldn't exist, were exaggerated or that in some fantasy future, Brussels would waive them all and allow us a special status, that of being a member with none of the obligations or budget contributions, or freedom of movement but with carte blanche to do as we liked.
Byrne said the free trade deals signed so far had increased GDP by £14.5 billion, but leaving the single market had reduced GDP by £240 billion, and we're losing £250 million a day in lost tax revenue. Traders are filling in a million forms every nine days (around 40 million a year) at a cost of £8.5 billion, EU exports are down, and 16,000 companies have stopped trading with the EU altogether.
The haulier was the best thing. Toby Ovens, MD of Broughton Transport, had real experience. One consignment this week required no less than 26 official stamps over multiple forms and pages, all duly signed to certify that everything was correct. It was one of three consignments on the same truck. Before Brexit, it was a single form.
I don’t think we’ve got the Brexit people voted for. Our traders face a daily nightmare getting goods across the border. Here’s one example of just why. Toby Ovens of Broughton Transport told us about the 26 stamps he needs on loads of forms. To move one trailer across the Channel…
— Liam Byrne MP (@liambyrnemp.bsky.social) 13 January 2026 at 18:37
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Any trivial mistake would see the whole load rejected, something that happened regularly at Calais. The record for delays was one of 27 days for one truck. Drivers had to be swapped to keep the refrigerated vehicle and the load safe. The costs were all charged to the customer.
One example of the insanity came in a story of a truck turned around at Calais, which then took another two weeks to get back into the UK after being stuck in a UK border post because of paperwork issues with APHA, the UK's Agency for Plant and Animal Health. Talk about insane.
On another occasion, a vet chased a truck down the M4 to correct a paperwork error! This is apparently not that unusual.
The haulier also mentioned another little-understood problem for meat exporters in Scotland. One abattoir used to provide shipments of beef to Holland. Before Brexit, loads with a single document would take a ferry from Aberdeen to Rotterdam. Not anymore. Trucks must now go all the way to Dover, use the single EU border control post with facilities to handle products of animal origin at Calais, and then drive back up to Amsterdam through Belgium.
The same with shipments to the Iberian peninsula. Pre-Brexit it was easy to take the ferry from Plymouth to Santander, now it’s a drive through France.
Matt Hinde, Head of International Policy and Engagement at National Grid, explained how leaving the EU energy market created inefficiencies and was costing UK consumers £1 billion a year. The guy from UK Steel talked about 78% of British steel exports going to the EU before Brexit, all now subject to tariffs as Europe attempts to protect its own suppliers from cheap Chinese imports.
Airbus UK complained about the UK failing to negotiate a deal allowing its defence arm to benefit from the €150 billion fund for military expenditure under the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) procurement programme.
Byrne claimed that food exports to the EU had dropped by 24%, but Tom Bradshaw, the NFU's President, said they had research showing it was much worse at 35%.
Paul Nowack of the TUC said the TCA was a bad deal for Britain and for his members. But many of them voted for Brexit, and even now continue to think it was worth it, because Farage, the Brexiteers and the right-wing press still insist everything is rosy and hyperventilate at any hint of anybody suggesting we reverse it.
Sean Maguire from the CBI said his members were less concerned about tariffs (the TCA being tariff-free) and more concerned about regulatory divergence and the lack of any cooperation on regulations in general. He made the point that even if our rules are identical, British companies still have to prove compliance and that adds time and costs.
He also raised the issue that others had raised earlier, that member states didn’t always apply the rules consistently and in France, at the BCP in Calais, some staff seemed to go out of their way to be awkward. Maguire wanted Brussels to address this problem. I would say this is a risk that we have opened ourselves up to, and it will never go away until we’re a member again. Of course, some individuals resent Brexit, what did we expect?
All of these people were looking to the government to use the 'reset' to alleviate their problems, and who knows, they might get some concessions. But I wouldn't hold my breath for that. Any improvements will come only if the EU think they will benefit more than us. Hope is always the last thing to die.
The hearing just kept driving home the stupidity of it all, but I don’t think any of the major Brexit supporting news outlets on the right covered Tuesday’s event at all. This is the way the world works.
The architects are nowhere to be seen when the irksome and costly day-to-day problems are aired. They are all living the high life somewhere while the rest of us suffer the consequences. It was always so.
