Polly Toynbee (Rachel Reeves is all about growth. So why won’t she admit that Brexit is its worst enemy?, 25 March) demonstrates conclusively how much self-inflicted economic damage the UK is suffering from Brexit. She could also have mentioned the critical loss of investment from the EU’s long-term financing bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB).
During the UK’s EU membership, the EIB invested some £150bn in mainly infrastructure projects in the UK, representing actual investment of two to three times that amount, taking account of the EIB’s ability to attract other long-term co-financers. This key stream of investment and growth ceased with Brexit, and the successor regional investment banks established by the government have not come remotely near to replacing the EIB’s level of finance. If, as Toynbee urges, the government were bold enough to face down the Brexiters, there would be at least an opportunity to renegotiate access to EIB finance. No other source of significant investment is in prospect.
Brian Unwin
President, European Investment Bank, 1993-2000
