You couldn’t make it up: Britain LOSING almost £350m a week because of Brexit
The most reliable estimate so far shows we're losing almost exactly as much as what Brexiteers said we'd gain.
Growth of the British economy has dropped by almost 1 per cent since the Brexit vote, new figures from the Financial Times estimate.
The value of Britain’s economic output is 0.9 per cent lower than what it’s estimated it would have been had we voted to stay in the EU, the well regarded newspaper said this morning, continuing:
“The UK is likely to be producing £18bn less a year than would have been reasonable to expect and this is directly attributable to Britain’s decision to leave the EU.”
Divide that figure by 52 and you get an eerily familiar number: almost exactly £350m-a-week — the figure that Brexiteers promised would be gained from voting to leave the EU.
The newspaper assessed all the evidence available in making the estimate and their findings are confirmed by some Brexit-supporting economists. Julian Jessop, head of the Brexit unit at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“Lots of sensible Brexiters accept there will be a short-term hit and it is unarguable that the economy is weaker than it would have been, I would say between 0.5 and 1 per cent weaker.”
As well as output, other indicators on the economy are also flashing red: investment in businesses has dropped massively after the Brexit vote.
Business investment grew by 1.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2017, this is down almost five-fold against official forecasts for growth drawn up in 2016.
This economic downturn after Brexit has already cost the average UK worker a week’s wages – or about £500 – according to Thomas Sampson of the London School of Economics.
With the pound falling against other currencies, prices are going up; “the increase in inflation caused by the Leave vote has already hurt UK households”, Sampson told the FT.
Commenting on the figures Eloise Todd CEO of campaign group Best for Britain said:
“I could have sworn Brexit politicians said it would save us £350 million a week not cost us £350 million a week.”
Todd added: “losing this money will mean that we are all worse off. This will lead to services being slashed across the board… We are facing a Brexit economic disaster.”
It’s a cruel irony that Brexit is already costing us what the Brexiteers promised we’d gain. The most worrying part is that this may just be the beginning of Brexit’s economic rollercoaster ride.
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
Donate today
