The British economy suffered losses as a result of the departure from the European Union (EU), and that loss is already higher than the saving of EU contribution. This is the conclusion of the research team of the pro-European London think tank Center for European Reform (CER).
The Treasury lost 26 billion euros in tax revenue through Brexit. According to the CER, the cause is that the uncertainty caused by the departure from the EU led to an economic dip of 2.1 percent. The lost income is higher than the contribution money saved by the UK (UK) by withdrawing from the EU.
“Two years after the referendum, we see that the vote for Brexit is seriously harming the economy,” says John Springford of the CER.
British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Theresa May talk about a ‘Brexit dividend’. By this, they mean the money saved by the United Kingdom thanks to the Brexit. This budget would benefit health care.
According to the CER, this windfall does not exist. The Brexit would not give the United Kingdom any financial windfall, but rather a loss. Springford: “The so-called ‘Brexit dividend’ is a myth: the departure from the EU costs the treasury £ 440 million (EUR 500 million, ed.) Per week, much more than the United Kingdom ever paid to the EU.”
The researchers used a statistical model that compares the British economy with how the economic situation would have been without a Brexit. CER did this by comparing the situation with that of countries that most closely match the British economy over the past 20 years.