Voters have been denied the fruits of Brexit rebellion

FIVE years ago, we formally left the EU, but what benefits has Brexit brought us?

- Tim Newark

It's a good question. Immigration - both legal and illegal - has surged and, despite a host of trade deals with the rest of the world, we haven't exactly seen commodity prices come crashing down in low-growth Britain. While the latest figures from the ONS predict net immigration will still be running at 340,000 per year from 2029 onwards - continuing to put unsustainable pressure on our hospitals, schools, housing and other infrastructure.

We always thought the enemy was without - Brussels bureaucrats - but it now appears the enemy of true change was actually within - in successive foot-dragging governments that have embraced red tape and followed their own agenda.

"Our hands are tied", has after all become the mantra of civil servants and politicians wanting to blame circumstances beyond their control for their own lack of power.

For decades they happily pointed to EU directives, but then in 2016 came the horrible realisation they'd have to account for their own failures. And since then they've been busily reassembling new laws hindering our progress.

CHIEF among these was Theresa May's legally binding net zero legislation in 2019, condemning us to years of de-industrialisation, job losses and some of the highest energy prices in the world.