A LIBERAL Democrat candidate has claimed Brexit has been a “failure” and said families and businesses in Salisbury are being “punished” by rising costs as she calls for the UK to rejoin the single market.

Victoria Charleston, the Lib Dem candidate for Salisbury and a city councillor, is urging the government to negotiate a new deal with Europe, including membership of the EU single market and a customs union, arguing it would help tackle the cost-of-living crisis in south Wiltshire.

She said households and firms in Salisbury and surrounding villages are facing “sky-high bills, expensive food shops and squeezed budgets”, and claimed a closer relationship with Europe would help bring prices down and boost economic growth.

The proposal forms part of wider Liberal Democrat plans for a new Growth and Defence Partnership with the EU, championed by party leader Ed Davey.

The party says the move would reduce trade barriers, support businesses and strengthen defence ties with European allies.

Charleston also linked the issue to Salisbury’s experience of the Novichok poisonings, arguing the city had already felt the impact of wider geopolitical instability.

She said: “It’s time to talk about the elephant in the room… there is no denying that ten years on, the Conservative Party’s Brexit experiment has been a failure.

“It did real damage to our local economy and worsened the cost-of-living crisis – the effects of which are being felt by families, traders and businesses across Salisbury and South Wiltshire.

“Enough is enough, we need to prevent any further hurt from the Brexit experiment.

“That’s why we are calling on the Labour government to take the bold action that is needed to help people and businesses in our community now.”

The comments are likely to reignite debate locally over Brexit, Europe and whether closer ties with the EU would help ease pressure on household finances.