UK Ministers Admit £24bn Already Spent on EU Withdrawal
The SNP has challenged Keir Starmer to be honest with voters and publish UK Government analysis of the ongoing impact of Brexit on the UK economy and public finances.
It comes ahead of the UK Budget, as ministers admit the UK has already spent £24 billion withdrawing from the EU.
In response to a written parliamentary question from Arbroath MP Stephen Gethins, Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq admitted the Labour Government has made no assessment of the impact that Brexit is having on public finances. This is in spite of Labour Party plans to impose billions of pounds of cuts which it says are required due to a ‘black hole’ in the finances.
The Labour Treasury minister did, however, admit that the UK has already paid the EU £23.8bn as part of its ‘financial settlement’ agreement and will pay a further £6.4bn – at a time when the Chancellor is complaining about a £22 billion black hole.
Separately, economists have warned that Brexit has wiped billions of pounds from the UK economy and tax receipts – with the OBR estimating a 4% hit to GDP. A study by the Centre for European Reform (CER) in 2022 found that UK Government tax revenues would have been around £40 billion higher on an annual basis if the UK had remained in the EU – around the exact amount that Rachel Reeves is seeking to plug in spending cuts and tax rises at the UK budget.
When Labour say continued austerity is necessary, they mean necessary in light of the dreadful impact of Brexit which they threw their full weight behind.
GRAEME
The amount EU withdrawal has already cost the UK is eyewatering, and the benefits still nowhere to be seen.
The UK Government need to publish a full analysis ahead of their budget if they are telling the public that we need to suck up enormous spending cuts.
This is damage that could have been averted, and which could still be minimised with a change of approach from Keir Starmer’s Labour Government rather than a doubling down on Tory policies across the board.
With the Labour government planning £40 billion of painful austerity cuts and tax rises at the UK budget, it’s essential that they are honest about the damage Brexit is doing to public finances. Sir Keir Starmer has blamed the Tories for the state of the economy but at the same time he’s continuing Brexit, their most damaging policy, which is wiping billions of pounds from tax receipts and economic growth every single year.
STEPHEN GETHINS, MP FOR ARBROATH & BROUGHTY FERRY, SNP INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS SPOKESPERSON
We now know the UK government has already spent £24 billion of taxpayers’ money on leaving the EU, and economists have warned the UK is losing out on another £40 billion a year in tax receipts due to the impact of Brexit – almost the exact amount the Chancellor is planning to cut. The Labour government must commission and publish a full assessment of the impact Brexit is having on the economy and public finances ahead of the UK budget – and be honest with voters about the impact their hard Brexit policy choices are having.
Brexit has been disastrous for the UK economy and broader society. It takes away rights and opportunities that my generation took for granted, makes it more difficult for businesses, and we are paying heavily for the privilege of being outside the world’s largest single market.
There is no path to strong economic success outside the EU. Given this, it astonishes me that Sir Keir is pursuing a hard Tory Brexit that deprives public services of badly needed funds at a time when Labour continue to pursue a Tory austerity agenda.
