Brexit cost UK economy 6%, Bank of England company data suggests
New company-level data compiled at the Bank of England suggests Brexit has cost the UK economy roughly 6% in lost annual output. According to the BBC, the finding links higher trade frictions with the EU and weaker investment directly to lower productivity.
New company-level data compiled at the Bank of England offers one of the most concrete estimates yet of Brexit's cumulative economic cost. According to BBC Business, the work suggests aggregate output has run roughly 6% lower than it would otherwise have done since the EU referendum.
The data points to three main channels: customs and regulatory friction in EU trade, an investment slowdown driven by uncertainty, and structural shifts in the labour market. Firms in the sample with the heaviest export exposure to the EU reported the sharpest productivity losses. The Bank's finding is likely to put the Brexit balance sheet back in the public conversation.
The report lands as political pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer intensifies. A warning over fragile public finances, the Bank of England's decision to hold rates, and a rise in borrowing fell into the same week. The Brexit cost finding has the potential to reopen the policy debate over closer alignment with the EU.
Read next
Syria frees activist Hassan Akkad days after his detention
Syrian activist and documentary maker Hassan Akkad has been released a few days after his detention. According to Al Jazeera, Akkad's arrest had reopened international concerns about the new Damascus authorities' approach to media and civil society.
US and Iran begin talks on initial peace deal in Switzerland
Tasmania's Mona unveils $100m underground library Phrontisterion
New Zealand exporters need not fear China's push for domestic food security
India NEET medical exam resits go ahead under tight security
