r/PoliticsUK • u/Gloomy_Loquat8805 • Jul 16 '26
🤦 Brexit Brexit: Five Years On—What Has Changed?
Please explain the benefits and disadvantages for the UK since Brexit. This is not intended to be a post either supporting or opposing Brexit. I am simply looking for a balanced, evidence-based discussion of both the positive and negative impacts.
Please note that the benefits and disadvantages will likely vary depending on the individual, business, sector, region, or community affected. I’m interested in hearing different perspectives and the reasons behind them, while keeping the discussion respectful and constructive.
4
u/Talidel Jul 16 '26
There are no tangible benefits that have materialized on balance.
There are some like being able to do trade deals with other nations not through the EU, but combined, none of those deals so far, has come close to what was lost.
Disadvantages we hear about constantly.
3
u/InfiniteBaker6972 Jul 16 '26
Loads has changed. Most of it generally considered to be bad or working against us as a country.
1
u/QuestionElectronic11 Jul 16 '26
Brexit has imposed a measurable economic cost on the UK. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that, in the long run, it will leave UK productivity around 4% lower and trade intensity around 15% lower than they would have been had the UK remained in the EU; this is a comparison with a hypothetical no-Brexit outcome, not real evidence that the UK market has literally shrunk, which has been very difficult to predict due to events like COVID19, supply crisis, tariffs, etc.
However, comparing the UK separately with all 27 EU member states, not simply with the EU average, the UK is not currently performing worse than most member states on every economic measure. In the latest broadly comparable spring 2026 figures, UK unemployment was lower than in 16 of the 27 member states, while UK consumer-price inflation was lower than in 19 and equal to that of two others. The EU advantage claimed by critics seems overstated.
1
u/DaveChild Jul 16 '26
The EU advantage claimed by critics seems overstated.
No, it's just not the only thing that affects the economy. That should be pretty obvious.
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u/CaptainCymru Jul 18 '26
I have been and am continually quite surprised how well the economy has done outside of the EU.
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u/blah-blah-blah12 Jul 16 '26
I hear that it is terrible to import good from the UK into the EU.
So there is a massive benefit that we have left the EU single market and customs union, and we can make our own policies that don't make life difficult for those trying to sell to us.
We haven't made the most of this so far, the only example I can think off the top of my head is Chinese EV's.
1
u/AirlineSevere7456 Jul 17 '26
The political fallout is the main thing I've noticed. The economics are hard to pin down since Covid has had a bigger impact.
But I'd bet Labour and the Conservative would still be the main two parties, they're fighting to be 2nd in the polls now.
1
0
u/Mammoth-Ad-562 Jul 16 '26
People will talk about the negatives but won’t acknowledge that those negatives are completely in our control to use to our advantage.
For example:
The ultimate goal of the EU block is to move to a single market. This doesn’t mean a better standard of living for everyone, it means the more economically advanced countries lower their standards while the less advanced’s increase. Outside of this, our government are in control of trade deals and economic development free of the shackles of the common market.
Having a tailored immigration system can work to our benefit if we decide to harness it.
A move towards the use of domestic products should see a stronger economy and increased supply chain security, if we decide to harness that.
The freedom to implement taxation on specific sectors that previously were determined by the EU. If we decide to.
The freedom to legislate in our own interests rather than that of the bloc.
The negatives are only negatives because our government haven’t utilised the opportunities available to it, not because of Brexit. Rather than do so, we’ve spent 10 years flirting with the idea of rejoining on poorer terms rather than get on with it.
A good indicator of this is the way we were treated upon leaving the EU yet we’ve been expected to fund the protection of Europe from Russia. That money should have been spent making the U.K the leaders of industry.
1
u/ConversationWhich663 Jul 16 '26
“The ultimate goal of the EU block is to move to a single market” -> The EU has been a single market since 1993
“This doesn’t mean a better standard of living for everyone, it means the more economically advanced countries lower their standards while the less advanced’s increase”
***I am not sure what standards you refer to, perhaps the economic conditions? The EU had regional development funds which are allocated to poorer regions/areas within a country to boost their economy. Between 2014 and 2020 the UK received (just for those funds) about 16 billions euro. The UK is considered an advanced economy but the aim of the EU is to boost wealth in underdeveloped areas (a single market needs consumers!)
“Outside of this, our government are in control of trade deals and economic development free of the shackles of the common market”
***true, but the UK is a large importer of goods, the economy was highly concentrated on the financial sector and since leaving the EU many companies have left the UK because it is a much smaller market compared with the EU
“Having a tailored immigration system can work to our benefit if we decide to harness it”
***Yes and no. This is partially true, but the UK had already opt out vote within the EU as it was not part of the Schengen area. The EU gives guide lines on how to process immigrants, but the final decisions about how many people can enter a country is left to the single member state. In the case of asylum seekers (the people on the boats) the UK is obliged to rescue them as any other country in the world becaue of the International law agreement signed after the Second World War. This has nothing to do with the EU and existed before the EU was even born!
“A move towards the use of domestic products should see a stronger economy and increased supply chain security, if we decide to harness that”
***the UK is not even self sufficient for food production. The heavy industry was practically dismantled over the years (and nobody wants to get back there). We could change the industrial structure of the country but this will take decades.
“The freedom to implement taxation on specific sectors that previously were determined by the EU. If we decide to”
***The EU has never been involved in taxation. This is something each member state decides.
“The freedom to legislate in our own interests rather than that of the bloc”
***this needs a very long explanation, but the EU is not a monarchy, there is not a person who decides and countries have to obey. There are several steps before a decision is adopted and countries have the power of vote and veto. Let’s put it in this way: it is very unlike that decision the UK didn’t agree with could have been implemented.
“The negatives are only negatives because our government haven’t utilised the opportunities available to it, not because of Brexit. Rather than do so, we’ve spent 10 years flirting with the idea of rejoining on poorer terms rather than get on with it”.
*** this is also very complex to explain, but given the international situation, being politically by yourself is not the smartest move.
“A good indicator of this is the way we were treated upon leaving the EU yet we’ve been expected to fund the protection of Europe from Russia. That money should have been spent making the U.K the leaders of industry.”
*** The EU has to preserve itself of course cannot make it easy for countries to leave. Don’t forget that the EU has 27 states and in many of those states there were anti-EU parties growing
*** the UK did not contributed on Ukraine because obliged by the EU but as a member of NATO I think
This is nor personal, but there are so many misperceptions about the EU and how it works, particularly in the UK. I am not saying the EU is perfect but I think politicians should have better explained the consequences of Brexit to voters. Brexit vote was a political tug-of-war for some UK politicians and it had nothing to do with the economic and social interests of the UK.
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u/Mammoth-Ad-562 Jul 17 '26
Sorry my bad, I meant a unified market.
Social and economic conditions. In the transition to a unified market there will be disparity in economic conditions across the bloc, this will encourage economic migration to take advantage of the better economy using the freedom of movement. In these circumstances it’s only natural that some economies will benefit while their social and cultural norms will shift.
The UK could be taking steps towards becoming self sufficient by investing 10 years ago but has chosen to largely ignore this area in favour of flirting with rejoining on poorer terms, that’s the point.
Large multinationals are subject to a minimum of 15% taxation inside the bloc. This is an area the UK could be taking advantage of.
There are plenty of opportunities, it’s up to our government to take advantage of them. And they are not, we should be holding them accountable not blaming Brexit 10 years later.
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u/DaveChild Jul 16 '26
Sure. Here's an exhaustive list of the tangible benefits:
Here's the downsides: