According to a study, leaving the European Union will cost the British economy dearly. So far, Brexit has reduced economic output by six percent, which is equivalent to 140 billion pounds (163 billion euros) annually, said London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday. The loss should increase to ten percent by 2035. Khan commissioned the study from the consulting firm Cambridge Econometrics. “It is now obvious that Brexit is not working,” Khan said. “The hard version of Brexit we got is dragging down our economy and driving up the cost of living.” According to Cambridge Econometrics calculations, employment levels will fall by three million by 2035 as a result of Brexit. Investments should be a third lower.
On June 23, 2016, a narrow majority of Brits voted for their country to leave the EU, which took place at the beginning of 2020. This makes trade with the EU more difficult. The Labor Party, which is well ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ruling Conservatives in opinion polls and of which Khan is also a member, has so far held back from making clear statements about future relations with the EU. The elections could take place in the second half of the year.
Less trade, lower direct investment, more uncertainty: the German economy also recently had a negative Brexit result. “Brexit is an economic disaster for both sides of the Channel,” said the head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), Volker Treier. In 2022, Germany exported goods worth 73.8 billion euros to the United Kingdom, 14.1 percent less than in 2016, the year of the Brexit vote.