Yahoo Finance Brexit on tap: JD Wetherspoon hands out 500,000 beer mats 'exposing Brexit lies'
Drinkers in JD Wetherspoon pubs will have no doubt about where the boss of the chain stands on Brexit – hundreds of thousands of beer mats will be selling it to them.
Wetherspoon’s – with 893 hostelries nationwide – has issued a new mat highlighting chairman Tim Martin’s vocal support for Brexit and accusing business leaders of “misleading” the public on the apparent downside of leaving the EU.
About half a million mats will be distributed throughout its pubs bearing the message that big business has tried to “fool” the public by saying food prices will rise without a deal with the EU.
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They also state that when the UK leaves the EU in March 2019, Parliament can reclaim rights to the UK’s fishing grounds, ending EU policies which have “devastated” many coastal communities.
Martin said: “The latest big business scare story is that the UK needs a ‘deal’ with the EU to avoid a ‘cliff edge’.
“Senior business people have repeatedly said that food prices will rise dramatically without one.
“This is the reverse of the truth. Parliament can eliminate the tariffs the EU currently charges on food.
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“This will reduce prices provided the UK avoids a deal and reverts to World Trade Organisation rules.
“These business leaders should be ashamed of their naked attempt to mislead the public.”
Leading Brexiter Martin appeared on BBC radio’s Desert Island Discs over the weekend and admitted immigration was integral to the future economic success of the country.
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“Immigration is a good thing but you don’t need to give your democracy away to get what you want,” he told the show.
“You need a slightly rising population as the years go by to have a successful economy and a successful country.”
He said an Australian points-style immigration system would be ideal after Brexit.
