The Digby Jones Index

The Digby-Jones index came from an article written in October 2020 which proved extremely popular, but has now developed into a permanent feature on Yorkshire Bylines.

This is not just about providing an accurate list of jobs being lost, although we are trying to report faithfully the impact of Brexit, it’s about the lives disrupted and in some cases ruined by the reckless folly of men like Digby Jones, who in 2016 reassured people that a vote to leave the EU would not result in a single job in Britain being lost. He could have had no idea if this was true or not, but as we have seen over the last four years, companies are clearly moving out of the UK and into the EU to protect themselves against Brexit.

What the list reveals is not only his ignorance of British industry but a similar ignorance about the very nature of how the single market and the customs union works. People may well have been deceived into voting for Brexit in 2016 by Digby Jones but increasingly we only see the empty words of a foolish man. It is proof positive that those at the forefront of the leave campaign had no idea of the disaster they intended to visit upon us.

There is no shame in ignorance, but there is shame in publicly offering reassurances about Brexit when you were unaware of the consequences. This is the kindest explanation. The other is that he knew it would result in huge job losses but assured people that it wouldn’t.

Many people have contacted us about their direct experience of job losses, privately attributed to Brexit but by companies too afraid to say so publicly. We have not included them to prevent Yorkshire Bylines being accused of exaggeration, but the total number of jobs lost so far is almost certainly far higher than our list would indicate.

Scroll to the bottom of the list to find video clips of Lord Jones making his claims.

This list was last updated on 22 April 2023.