April 24, 2025
*Rejoin EU Party candidate in Runcorn & Helsby by-election condemns silence on high UK borrowing costs*
Re-joining the EU would help reduce the huge interest-rate burden dragging the UK economy down and exposing voters in Runcorn & Helsby and elsewhere to potential falls in property values and higher personal debt costs, but none of the major candidates are prepared to say it, Rejoin EU Party candidate John Stevens says.
The International Monetary Fund this week downgraded UK economic growth prospects <www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-economic-growth-trump-tariffs-reeves-imf-b2737223.html> in 2025 and the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility indicated that the government now has effectively no remaining fiscal headroom for current spending, making further tax rises or welfare cuts inevitable if the economy weakens further, Stevens said.
“The IMF’s analysis sharply contrasted the UK’s performance with that of the eurozone,” Stevens said. “There, despite the threat from the tariffs imposed and threatened by Donald Trump, growth is stable and confidence is growing over the likely beneficial boost from increased defence spending and its knock-on effects. This better performance is fundamentally due to lower borrowing costs created by the single currency on top of the shield against growing world protectionism afforded by the EU’s single market. The interest-rate advantage created by the euro is dramatic: even Greece is now borrowing more than 1% less in international markets than the UK, for example.
“This difference should be a major issue across Britain and perhaps especially in Runcorn & Helsby ahead of the by-election on May 1st. For there are some 1,200 small businesses employing five or less people in the constituency, of whom it’s estimated some 45% face strains from high interest rates.
“Whilst homeownership in the constituency is slightly above the national average, so too is the level of mortgage debt relative to house values, making it more vulnerable to high interest rates and potentially falling property values than many other parts of the country. It also has higher levels of personal and credit card debt than the national average. But none of the major party candidates have anything to say about how they would reduce the huge interest rate burden on our economy daily dragging us down. Re-joining the EU, with the swift economic boost that would provide, is the obvious answer.”
*Notes to editors: *
*Please see photo of John Stevens attached. For interviews and further comment on any of the issues mentioned above, email John at js@gormaz.eu <js@gormaz.eu> or the party at admin@therejoineuparty.com <admin@therejoineuparty.com>*
*Find out more by visiting John’s campaign page <therejoineuparty.com/general-election-2024/candidates/runcorn-john-stevens/> on our website at www.therejoineuparty.com <emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.therejoineuparty.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce4f2407bd00b49b7eb4e08dd6afb87c6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638784350728173…> and following us on Twitter at @rejoinp and at **https://www.facebook.com/RejoinEUParty <emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRejoinEUParty&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce4f2407bd00b49b7eb4e08dd6afb87c6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638784350…>* *The Rejoin EU Party is campaigning to re-join the EU because we believe re-joining is the only way to solve the multiple problems Brexit has created. Brexit is broken and it’s breaking our country too. All the promises on which Brexit was sold to the electorate in 2016 were nonsense. Far from reducing red tape and providing £350m a week for the NHS, Brexit makes trading with the crucial European market more complex, difficult and expensive and threatens to reduce funding for public services. If you agree Brexit is making our country poorer, less tolerant and less united, join us and send a message to Westminster that you want your EU membership back, with all its freedoms and benefits.* *Promoted by John Stevens on behalf of the Rejoin EU Party, 86-90 Paul St, London, EC2A 4NE.*
*Rejoin EU Party candidate in Runcorn & Helsby by-election condemns silence on high UK borrowing costs*
Re-joining the EU would help reduce the huge interest-rate burden dragging the UK economy down and exposing voters in Runcorn & Helsby and elsewhere to potential falls in property values and higher personal debt costs, but none of the major candidates are prepared to say it, Rejoin EU Party candidate John Stevens says.
The International Monetary Fund this week downgraded UK economic growth prospects <www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-economic-growth-trump-tariffs-reeves-imf-b2737223.html> in 2025 and the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility indicated that the government now has effectively no remaining fiscal headroom for current spending, making further tax rises or welfare cuts inevitable if the economy weakens further, Stevens said.
“The IMF’s analysis sharply contrasted the UK’s performance with that of the eurozone,” Stevens said. “There, despite the threat from the tariffs imposed and threatened by Donald Trump, growth is stable and confidence is growing over the likely beneficial boost from increased defence spending and its knock-on effects. This better performance is fundamentally due to lower borrowing costs created by the single currency on top of the shield against growing world protectionism afforded by the EU’s single market. The interest-rate advantage created by the euro is dramatic: even Greece is now borrowing more than 1% less in international markets than the UK, for example.
“This difference should be a major issue across Britain and perhaps especially in Runcorn & Helsby ahead of the by-election on May 1st. For there are some 1,200 small businesses employing five or less people in the constituency, of whom it’s estimated some 45% face strains from high interest rates.
“Whilst homeownership in the constituency is slightly above the national average, so too is the level of mortgage debt relative to house values, making it more vulnerable to high interest rates and potentially falling property values than many other parts of the country. It also has higher levels of personal and credit card debt than the national average. But none of the major party candidates have anything to say about how they would reduce the huge interest rate burden on our economy daily dragging us down. Re-joining the EU, with the swift economic boost that would provide, is the obvious answer.”
*Notes to editors: *
*Please see photo of John Stevens attached. For interviews and further comment on any of the issues mentioned above, email John at js@gormaz.eu <js@gormaz.eu> or the party at admin@therejoineuparty.com <admin@therejoineuparty.com>*
*Find out more by visiting John’s campaign page <therejoineuparty.com/general-election-2024/candidates/runcorn-john-stevens/> on our website at www.therejoineuparty.com <emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.therejoineuparty.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce4f2407bd00b49b7eb4e08dd6afb87c6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638784350728173…> and following us on Twitter at @rejoinp and at **https://www.facebook.com/RejoinEUParty <emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRejoinEUParty&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce4f2407bd00b49b7eb4e08dd6afb87c6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638784350…>* *The Rejoin EU Party is campaigning to re-join the EU because we believe re-joining is the only way to solve the multiple problems Brexit has created. Brexit is broken and it’s breaking our country too. All the promises on which Brexit was sold to the electorate in 2016 were nonsense. Far from reducing red tape and providing £350m a week for the NHS, Brexit makes trading with the crucial European market more complex, difficult and expensive and threatens to reduce funding for public services. If you agree Brexit is making our country poorer, less tolerant and less united, join us and send a message to Westminster that you want your EU membership back, with all its freedoms and benefits.* *Promoted by John Stevens on behalf of the Rejoin EU Party, 86-90 Paul St, London, EC2A 4NE.*