Brexit shows the consequences: British regions still lag financially

Britain’s exit from the European Union has consequences
British regions are still underdeveloped financially

01/27/2022 10:21 AM

One of Prime Minister Johnson’s big promises was that British territories would not suffer any financial losses as a result of leaving the European Union. This does not appear to have worked, as a parliamentary report now shows. Instead, regions have to adapt to massive financial losses.

According to a parliamentary report, British regions have been worse off financially since Brexit. The Treasury’s Parliamentary Committee report noted that “the government has claimed that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be the successor to the EU’s Structured Investment Funds”. In fact, he says, “however, it only collects 60 per cent of the money available from EU funds.”

The report contradicted key promises made by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said the regions would not incur any financial losses from leaving the European Union. The authors note that “if the new fund is to be one of the key parts of the government’s ambitions, it is surprising that the size of this fund has been reduced in this way.”

They also warned that simply “renaming existing programs will not have the desired effect”. Among other things, Downing Street in late October announced a £7 billion refurbishment of trains and buses, with much of the previously earmarked funding subsequently revealed and announced. Before Brexit, many British regions and cities were highly dependent on EU money to fund their structural change.