When Donald Trump slapped new tariffs on EU and UK goods, Michelle Dewberry – GB News presenter and self-styled Brexit truth-teller – took to Twitter to call it a “Brexit benefit.” The UK is still be facing 10% tariffs, but as the EU got 20% – that’s a win, apparently.
This short response cuts through the nonsense with clarity, bite and more than a little justified exasperation.
Dewberry tweeted: “Whatever you think about the rights/wrongs of these tariffs… EU gets 20% whacked on, UK gets half that: 10%. Hmmmm, smells a bit like a Brexit benefit to me. Let’s see what the coming months bring…”
Dear Editor,
This argument is just completely demented.
What are these people thinking?
Let me grab an Explaining Crayon quickly and try to clarify something here.
The fact that the UK was imposed with a lower tariff by a tantrum-prone economic nationalist isn’t a Brexit win – it’s a humiliating consolation prize from a country that sees us as a trade pawn, not a partner. What Michelle is applauding, is the diplomatic equivalent of getting punched in the face and calling it a win because someone else got drop-kicked.
The UK is still facing a 10% tariff on all goods and a 25% tariff on all cars entering the US. This wasn’t negotiated. It wasn’t won. It was imposed – by an administration whose trade policy is a mix of economic nationalism, chaos, and flag-waving nonsense. And this is what she’s calling a “benefit”?
Meanwhile, we’ve also got full-fat trade friction with the EU – the world’s largest single market and our biggest trading partner. Brexit didn’t just cost us access, it cost us influence, stability, and alignment with one of the most powerful trading blocs in the world. That’s not freedom – it’s geopolitical amnesia wrapped in a Union Jack.
We left the EU, set fire to our negotiating power, and crossed our fingers that the US would toss us a bone. They did – but that bone has tariffs all over it and comes with a smug grin from a man who thinks annexing Canada and “buying Greenland” is solid foreign policy.
So no, this isn’t a Brexit benefit. It’s a Brexit humiliation with a bow on it. And if she’s still cheering, I’d gently suggest the smell isn’t victory – it’s desperation dressed as pride.
This letter by Bearly Politics is reproduced from this Twitter post with permission.
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