The People’s Vote campaign today [Friday] launches a Black Friday pop-up shop in South London to demonstrate that the Government’s dodgy Brexit deal is one of the worst deals ever for the British people. 

The “CostUpper” Brexit Minimart in Peckham will be stocked with hundreds of products that demonstrate not only that prices have gone up under Brexit but that people in this country are facing a bad deal. The shop will be filled with household products which represent the miserable Brexit on offer  - such as ‘chlorinated’ chicken – all at ridiculous prices. The shop will be officially opened at 1100 Hrs but is open all day.

The shop launch comes as new analysis by People’s Vote shows inflation caused by ongoing uncertainty over Brexit has already seen prices in shops go up by almost 6 per cent since the referendum – costing the average household £546 more per year.  

In a Black Friday double-whammy , not only have prices gone up, but wages have also been hit by inflation, with workers already £448 a year worse off.

Every-day goods such as sliced bread, milk and butter have all seen big price increases in the last two years, hitting families in their pockets. In June 2016, the price of 250g of butter averaged £1.36 - it now costs £1.79 - an increase of 43p. Coffee has seen a 26p increase for a 227g bag. Bread has seen a 4.5% price increase (6p per loaf). Sausages are up 45p a kilo. And salmon fillets have gone up a whopping £2.81 per kilo.

Hard-pressed householders trying to eat healthily have also been hit hard. Apples are up by 13p per kilo, superfood broccoli is up by 29p and tomatoes are 15p per kilo more expensive. And in a blow to everyone who likes to relax with a drink after a hard day at work, the cost of a glass of wine has shot up by 21p per glass and a whiskey nip is up from £2.69 to £2.87.

The “CostUpper” Brexit Minimart will stock a range of Brexit themed products, including ‘Tomato Botchup’; ‘Hellish Mayonnaise’ - spreads your budget more thinly; ‘Conman’s Mustard’ - Taste the mark ups; ‘Brexit Pickle’ - a bit of a pickle; ‘Whinings Tea’; ‘Mother’s Shame’  bread; and ‘Bitter Pils Beer’ - leaves a nasty taste in your mouth.

Neil Coyle MP, a leading supporter of People’s Vote, said:

“This dodgy Brexit deal is already hitting our pockets hard, with prices in the shops up under the Brexit bump but wages down. With reductions to NHS staff, salaries down and prices up, this dodgy Brexit is turning out to be one of the worst deals ever and we're not buying it.

“Nobody voted for a Brexit that will see Britain giving away control and leaving people poorer. This is not what was promised two years ago. It’s much worse than the deal we’ve already got inside the EU and, if approved, means Brexit will go on for ever because the biggest questions are still unresolved.

“A choice between this deal and no deal is no choice at all. The British public deserve a real choice in a People’s Vote between leaving the EU on these terms or sticking with the deal we’ve got inside the EU.”

/Ends

Notes to editors

Brexit is already costing the average worker £448 per year in lost wages

A study by the London School of Economics has found that “the Brexit vote has cost the average worker almost one week’s wages” already

This is attributed to high inflation caused by Brexit. The study warns that this pay cut could be permanent, meaning that a young person who works from the age of 18 to 70, will lose a whole year’s wages over their lifetime.

The average loss per year has been calculated at £448, meaning that British workers lost out on a total of more than £14 billion in 2017 as a direct consequence of the Brexit vote.

(London School of Economics, 2018, link)

Brexit means prices in the shops are higher than they would have been otherwise

Between June 2016 and October 2018, inflation in the UK has meant that prices went up by 5.91%, meaning that we all pay more for our goods (see table below).

Inflation has been much higher in the UK than in the Eurozone. An estimate for UK inflation over the past two years, using Eurozone inflation as a guideline, shows a difference of 1.96% to current levels. 

The difference between British and Eurozone inflation is multiplied by the average household expenditure for each UK region (Office for National Statistics, link), giving a figure for how much Brexit is costing them so far.

The figures show that UK households are overpaying by an estimated £546 every year due to Brexit. 

*We use Eurozone inflation as an estimator or UK inflation in the case where Britain voted to remain in 2016

Products that have risen in cost since Brexit include bread, butter, and tomatoes.