I set myself the challenge of reading six books over the summer holidays to mirror the Summer Reading Challenge that is run by Somerset Council libraries for children, writes Cllr Bill Revans.
Recommended for me was A History of Brexit in 256 Disasters by the journalist Jonty Broom.
It is a passionate, unapologetically pro-European account of the consequences of Britain's decision to leave the European Union, presenting 256 examples of what the author regards as the political, economic, and social failures associated with Brexit.
Ten years ago, my 48th birthday was thoroughly spoilt by the referendum result.
I am pro-European Union and a strong Remain supporter.
The result was clear-cut, but the conclusion was clear.
The country at the time was split down the middle on the issue, with a 52:48 outcome in favour of Leave.
This book's greatest strength is its accessibility.
Rather than constructing a dense academic argument, Broom breaks Brexit down into a series of short, digestible case studies.
This format makes it easy to dip into and allows readers to build a cumulative picture of Brexit's impact across sectors ranging from trade and agriculture to culture, science, and international relations.
The book is polemical, written by someone who believes that Brexit was a historic mistake, and there is no pretence of neutrality.
The book is not an attempt to balance the arguments for and against leaving the EU; instead, it seeks to document the evidence for what the author sees as a decade of economic damage, political dysfunction, and missed opportunities.
One of the book's most effective features is its use of facts and statistics to support its case.
The accumulation of examples creates a powerful narrative that challenges Brexit advocates to explain the gap between the promises made during the referendum campaign and the outcomes that followed.
Even readers who do not share Broom's conclusions are likely to find the breadth of evidence thought-provoking.
The main weakness of the book is also its defining characteristic: its clear partisan perspective.
Readers looking for a balanced history of Brexit, including arguments that Brexit supporters believe have been vindicated, may feel that the book occasionally prioritises activism over analysis.
However, Broom is transparent about his perspective, and the book succeeds on its own terms as a detailed indictment of the Brexit project.
Overall, A History of Brexit in 256 Disasters is a lively, well-researched, and often entertaining attack on Brexit.
It is essential reading for Remainers, valuable for anyone interested in the post-2016 political landscape, and certain to provoke debate among supporters and opponents of Brexit alike.
Here in Somerset, farming, including dairy, livestock, cider production, and horticulture, is a bedrock of our economy.
Brexit introduced new trade barriers for exports to the EU, including customs declarations, certification requirements, and border checks.
These have increased costs and administrative burdens for producers selling into European markets.
Labour shortages have also been significant.
Many farms across the UK relied on seasonal EU workers before Brexit.
The end of free movement contributed to recruitment problems in agriculture, leading to higher labour costs and difficulties harvesting crops and processing food products.
Somerset manufacturers and exporters have had to adapt to new customs procedures and regulatory requirements when trading with the EU.
Local business organisations have noted increased complexity, paperwork, and supply chain disruption since Brexit.
Hospitality is important to our tourism destinations such as Wells, Glastonbury, Exmoor, Minehead, Burnham, Berrow and Brean.
The sector has experienced difficulties recruiting staff, particularly in hotels, restaurants, and leisure businesses.
Labour shortages in hospitality have been linked in part to the reduction in EU workers post-Brexit.
In contrast, we have been more successful in attracting inward investment into Somerset manufacturing, with Agratas and Leonardo being the standout examples.
We need to ensure that our education and training sectors can meet these demands for highly skilled local labour.
Thank goodness we have excellent FE colleges in Somerset.
Seven prime ministers in the last 10 years have shown how fractured and unstable our politics has become after the Brexit vote.
With polls showing 55 per cent support for re-joining the European Union and 34 per cent opposing in the YouGov tracker, there is now a consistent view that the Brexit vote is perceived as ill-judged.
However, the significant and vocal opposition to re-joining now presents a dilemma for pro-European politicians.
Any negotiations to re-join would be incendiary.
And our friends in the European Union nations would have no confidence that any decision would survive our tumultuous politics.
The accepted conclusion among economists is that our GDP is six to eight per cent lower as a consequence of Brexit.
That means as a national economy we are poorer than we otherwise would be.
Taxes are up, and demand on public services is higher.
Some people, though, have got much richer out of the stormy impacts on our economy.
Stability leads to prosperity for all.
Instability only benefits speculators.
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