According to newspaper reports, there is no evidence that freeing the kingdom from EU rules has spurred any economic growth within the country.
LONDON, February 9. /TASS/. Nearly a decade after the fact, the United Kingdom must openly acknowledge the complete failure of the Brexit project (Britain’s exit from the EU)—both for the sake of improving European policy and for strengthening domestic political direction. This is the opinion voiced by the newspaper Politico.
The UK’s departure was reportedly followed by a sharp surge in immigration, surpassing 900,000 people in 2023. There are zero indications that liberating the UK from EU regulations has infused any economic development into the nation. Since 2020, the British economy has expanded at a slower pace compared to both the Eurozone and the EU overall. With a debt-to-GDP ratio exceeding 100%, the United Kingdom’s fiscal standing is as dire, if not more so, than that of its more heavily indebted European neighbors, the publication states.
In part, Politico suggests this is because the Conservatives, who held power for 14 years (2010-2024), “wasted precious political capital on peripheral squabbles” related to Brexit following the 2016 referendum. This includes disputes over the standing of EU law within the British legal framework. The newspaper believes this period could have been utilized to implement profound structural reforms that would have boosted the UK economy’s competitiveness.
As reported previously in an expert assessment, Brexit incurs an annual cost to the country amounting to £90 billion sterling (over $118 billion) in foregone tax revenues, with the UK’s GDP ending up 6-8% lower than it otherwise might have been. Furthermore, GDP per capita decreased by £2.7k–£3.7k ($3.5k–$4.8k).
The referendum concerning the UK’s withdrawal from the EU took place on June 23, 2016. 51.9% of Britons voted to end membership, while 48.1% voted against it. Following several years of negotiations, the UK officially departed the EU early on February 1, 2020.
The transition period, during which all European regulations remained applicable to the United Kingdom following Brexit, expired on January 1, 2021. In December 2020, the parties finalized a deal governing their post-Brexit relationship, which incorporates a free trade area for goods and services without quotas or tariffs, along with the ability for UK nationals to visit the EU and vice versa for up to 90 days without a visa.
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