Three-quarters of UK firms say Brexit deal has not boosted business

The BCC’s call for action from the government came as research from the Centre for European Reform (CER) thinktank claimed Brexit had shaved 5.5% off GDP and cost £40bn in tax revenues.

In a report, the CER’s John Springford compares Britain’s performance since Brexit with a basket of similar economies.

Using this approach, known as the doppelgänger method, he finds that the economy is likely to have been £30bn, or 5.5% smaller in the second quarter of 2022, than it might have been had Brexit not happened. This is at the high end of recent estimates.

Springford argues that the weaker economy has had a knock-on effect on public finances, contributing to Sunak’s decision to increase taxes.

“If the UK economy had grown in line with the doppelgänger, tax revenues would have been around £40bn higher on an annual basis,” he said.