The dire state of the UK economy and its apparently inexorable slide into recession is prompting renewed debate about the impact of Brexit.
Indeed, while Europe is widely expected to follow the UK into recession, the fact that the UK has got there first - that it’s widely expected to take the biggest hit, and that it’s the only G7 country with a smaller economy than before the pandemic - has fuelled arguments that Brexit has fundamentally worsened Britain’s economic crisis by crippling trade with the world’s largest trading bloc.
In a sign that Brexit - after a Covid-induced hiatus - is perhaps once-again moving towards the centre of the national debate, PM Rishi Sunak was this week (21st November) prompted to scotch rumours - reportedly started by his chancellor Jeremy Hunt - that the UK government was considering a Swiss style arrangement with the EU, whereby some aspects the so-called “hard Brexit” negotiated by Boris Johnson are unpicked. Categorically denying that this is in on the cards, but without offering any tangible evidence, Sunak told the CBI conference that “Brexit…is already delivering enormous benefits and opportunities for the country.”
In this poll, we asked whether you’re seeing, or have seen, any benefits directly linked to Brexit?
It was a simple question: yes or no? and 88 per cent of the 749 respondents said 'no'.
As always we still welcome your wider views on this topic in the comments box below. What impact has Brexit had on your business? Can its effects be disentangled from the effects of Covid and Putin’s war in Ukraine? And is it now time to look at renegotiating the UK’s relationship with its biggest trading partner?
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