Great Britain. Experts: Brexit caused huge losses to the economy. An appeal to the government

“it has inevitably led to a tax increase, as a slower-growing economy requires tax increases to finance the same level of public services and social benefits,” said John Springford, deputy director of the London-based think tank Center for European Reform (CER), quoted in the report.

Great Britain. Brexit has lowered GDP

The calculations show that it lost 5.5 percent on leaving. , i.e. 33 billion pounds. Investments fell by 11% and trade by 7%. Without Brexit, most of the tax increases announced by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in March 2022 would not have been necessary.

Great Britain. British Chamber of Commerce: Brexit is a problem for business

Brexit still makes it difficult to do business – these are the conclusions of a survey conducted by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) among small and medium-sized enterprises. The organization calls on the government to renegotiate the trade agreement with the EU.

– Business owners feel that they are banging their heads against the wall – argues the head of BCC, Shevaun Haviland. 77 percent of small and medium-sized business owners surveyed declare that Brexit has not helped them run their business. 56 percent complain that they still have trouble adjusting to the new rules. “Our sales margins have shrunk,” said 53 percent of those surveyed. Almost half of them declare that they have problems with obtaining visas for employees. 80 percent are alarmed that their import costs have increased.

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Most economists from the beginning were not optimistic about the economic effects of the agreement. – Brexit has hit foreign trade. This is one of the reasons why the UK entered a deeper recession than other G7 countries, Professor Steven Schifferes from City University, a former BBC economics journalist, tells Polish Radio.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has not ruled out corrections, but minor ones. Although he has been a strong supporter of Brexit for years, the British media report that the head of government is considering a compromise, e.g. when it comes to the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol. Still, the prime minister argues that the British can take advantage of the new Brexit freedoms and accelerate the economy. Opposition leader Keir Starmer is also cautious on this issue, as part of the left-wing electorate voted to leave the European Union. Recall that in the Brexit referendum six years ago, 52 percent of Britons supported leaving the EU.

Great Britain. Brexit worsens the situation in the health service

Brexit also worsens the situation in the British health service, according to a report by the UK’s largest medical think tank. There is a shortage of hands in hospitals and clinics.

Doctors and nurses are missing for a long time. Many are leaving recently because the number of duties increases, as opposed to the pay. The NHS (British Health Service) creates, for example, special TV and Internet commercials to encourage British people to start a career in this sector.

The gap used to be filled by specialists from Poland, Spain or Bulgaria. However, Brexit bureaucracy and costs have exacerbated the situation, the report says. Added to this is the uncertainty related to visa procedures. Immigrants do not want to come so willingly, and the report estimates that if there was no Brexit, today there would be over 4,000 jobs in the UK. more doctors, including those most needed: cardiologists, paediatricians and psychiatrists.

The government, however, rejects the report’s conclusions. He emphasizes that he is investing in training and education to fill the gap in the sector with British specialists. Meanwhile, immigration is at a record high in the Kingdom today. Although the influx of people from the EU has clearly decreased, it is more than compensated by the arrivals from outside the Community.