Bath for Europe activist Jane Riekemann featured in an article in the Metro newspaper on a report that Brexit will have a bigger long term impact on Britain’s economy than Covid-19. This is the conclusion of the Office for Budget Responsibility, the official body that examines and reports on the sustainability of public finances. The Chairman, Richard Hughes, said it would reduce our long run GDP by about 4% compared to a reduction of around 2% as a result of the pandemic.
In the article Jane said “Once Covid has stopped being the primary concern, we will still have the problems produced by Brexit: the massive amount of bureaucracy and costs incurred through leaving the Single Market and the repercussions of the disruption to the supply chain, as well as sector shortages such as HGV drivers, NHS and care workers.
“Ironically, the government’s own 2018 impact assessments predicted much of this.
“When Pro-EU groups suggested these problems, it was all dismissed as ‘project fear’ – it now seems that project fear is actually Brexit reality.”
Bath for Europe 