“As a hard-nosed, self-made businessman, I believe that Malta represents the best destination for ambitious UK firms that must have a post-Brexit presence in the European Union”, wrote Lord Michael Ashcroft on Thursday in a special report on the online portal Conservative Home.
In the report, Lord Ashcroft, a staunch Brexiteer, says that Malta is an ideal place for small and medium-sized British businesses who want to have a base in the European Union after the UK exits the European Union.
This assertion is based on conversations that Ashcroft said he has had with 10 Maltese political, business, financial and legal figures, including Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Finance Minister Edward Scicluna.
Lord Ashcroft cited numerous factors, such as the country’s thriving economy, the “advantageous tax system both for companies and their workers”, the island’s cheap cost of living compared to major European cities and, most importantly, the country’s “solution-solving attitude and the solid work ethic of its business leaders and workforce.”
He also mentioned Malta’s commitment to blockchain, and the ‘calculated risks’ that Malta has taken to modernise its laws and still attract new business sectors. He continued by referring to the strong links between Malta and the UK, due to both historical ties and relations throughout the Commonwealth, which is shown in the country’s linguistic characteristics and the format of its business laws and which are all bound to make the relocation of British companies to the island easier.
Malta does have its drawbacks, and Lord Ashcroft cites the damage to the country’s reputation caused by allegations of political corruption and the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, its small size and lack of space, and a shortage of skilled and non-skilled workers.
However, despite these drawbacks, he says that the merits of the island far outweigh its drawbacks, and that Malta is the best destination within the European Union for British businesses who require a European base after Brexit.
Pro-Remain campaigners react: Ashcroft is ‘selling Britain down the river’
Lord Ashcroft’s article has drawn a lot of attention and he came under fire from British Labour MP Ian Murray who said that Lord Ashcroft is selling “selling Britain down the river”.
“He backs a Brexit that will devastate jobs and the economy at home while at the same time trying to flog the benefits of low-tax Malta to companies fleeing the mess he and his chums have made”, said Murray, who is a supporter of the People’s Vote campaign which is seeking a second Brexit referendum.
Others took to Twitter, where Lord Ashcroft shared his story with the caption “My blog on why Malta offers a superb location for UK companies needing an EU base after Brexit” to express their disappointment and anger with his comments. Many said that it was hypocritical of him to promote another country outside Britain for British businesses, hence endangering the job of those workers who cannot afford relocation, when it was he himself who supported Brexit.
Amid these reactions, there were also those who questioned the choice of Malta, with some citing the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and others, such as writer Peter Jukes, who described the island as “the seat of corruption”, and barrister Jolyon Maugham who called Malta a “tax haven”, before suggesting that Ashcroft’s history of avoiding tax payments had something to do with his support of Malta.
Last December, Lord Ashcroft’s private plane (photo) had been involved in a mishap at Malta International Airport when strong winds blew his Dassualt Falcon 7X out of the airport enclosure through a perimeter fence and into a building on the opposite side of the road.